"Miaoxue, if you want to go, I won’t stop you, but you can’t be too careful about others. Keep your guard up. You haven’t seen this Yue Mei’Er in ten years. She’s definitely not the same as she used to be. Whether she came this time to find the Saint Heir or to target you, it’s still unknown. I suggest you think calmly about everything and don’t act impulsively."

"Mm, I know, I will be careful." Si Miaoxue nodded.

"Also, you need to leave quietly. Before you go, don’t tell anyone," Lin Miao said. "These people under you may listen to you, but they are first and foremost followers of the Moon Worship Sect."

"Then what should I do about the management of Huaye Tower? I have to entrust it to someone, right?" Si Miaoxue exclaimed in surprise. She hadn’t thought of this yet. If her whereabouts were leaked, she would indeed be in danger. But if there’s no one in charge of Huaye Tower, it would certainly turn chaotic if something went wrong."

"When you left before, who took temporary charge of Huaye Tower?"

"Liuli and Mrs. Qiao," Si Miaoxue said. "Mrs. Qiao mainly handled the management, while Liuli was responsible for the performances and program arrangements. Now that Liuli isn’t here, Nan Mo has taken over the leading dance."

"Is Mrs. Qiao a member of the Moon Worship Sect?"

"Yes, she is. She came to Dongshan City ten years ago with my master and me." Si Miaoxue nodded.

"Does she know about our relationship?"

Si Miaoxue shook her head. Such a secretive matter practically amounts to betraying the Moon Worship Sect. There’s no way she’d tell her subordinates.

Her master, Long Po, was different. She herself had rebelled before; the master and apprentice were the same."

"Very well, then arrange for her to take care of something tomorrow, anything really, just as long as it ensures she won’t stay in Dongshan City. Ideally, it’s something that can’t be done in three to five days," Lin Miao instructed. "Then, ask Nan Mo to manage Huaye Tower for three days, saying you’re going into seclusion for training and don’t want to be disturbed. After that, quietly leave through the secret passage."

"Why is this? Do you suspect Mrs. Qiao..."

"It’s not suspicion. It’s a self-protective measure to send Mrs. Qiao away at this time," Lin Miao explained. "If there’s an issue with Mrs. Qiao, you wouldn’t be able to leave Huaye Tower without her noticing. Once she leaves, she won’t be aware of the situation at Huaye Tower unless she guesses you’ll leave, which is unlikely. Nan Mo is someone you’ve recently promoted; she’s not part of the Moon Worship Sect and won’t know about Yue Mei’Er or suspect you, so you can leave without worry..."

"What about Chun’Er? She certainly can’t be kept in the dark?"

"Isn’t Chun’Er your confidante? You should be able to trust her, right?" Lin Miao asked.

"Chun’Er is trustworthy. I’ve raised her since she was small; she wouldn’t betray me." Si Miaoxue nodded.

"Then let her bring meals to your room at a fixed time each day," Lin Miao suggested. "In three days, can you make a round trip to Longchuan Canyon?"

"If the road is good, I should be able to. However, you’d need to prepare a good horse for me," Si Miaoxue said.

"Don’t worry, I’ll solve the horse issue for you, ensuring it’s the best and fastest horse." Lin Miao nodded.

Su Chen’s family raises horses. It’s no simple task to secure a good horse.

...

Early in the morning, Su Chen went to Star-Picking Tower. Lin Miao had Mr. Xie make a trip and bring back a top-notch warhorse with no ranch markings.

Su Chen clearly understood; he realized that a horse was needed for something highly confidential, and no traceable markings should be left.

He even thoughtfully provided a saddle.

Complete with everything, a good horse with a good saddle, together, it would not be worth less than a thousand silver taels.

Su Chen gave it without a blink, showing the magnanimity of the richest man’s son.

As a matter of fact, if the prescription Lin Miao provided for treating the horse plague proves effective, its value would be inestimable, especially with the infectious disease isolation method. If effective, it could become a "standard" for epidemic prevention in the future.

In other words, Su Chen got an incredible deal. Compared to the value of the horse, it was negligible.

...

Morning.

"Mr. Lin, tea, freshly brewed, you can drink it now." When Lin Miao entered the consultation room, Xia Zhu placed a cup of freshly brewed tea on the table.

This was part of her daily routine. She had to arrive a stick of incense worth earlier to prepare, boil water, clean, prepare prescriptions, and brew tea for Mr. Lin.

Besides Mr. Lin as her teacher, there was also Sun Youwei, her teacher’s wife, who needed a cup of flower tea prepared."

"Xia Zhu, you don’t need to prepare it for me in the future; I can do it myself," Sun Youwei said, feeling bashful. Although her title was that of a teacher’s wife, she was actually a whole cycle younger than Xia Zhu.

Letting someone older with status serve her—somehow, it just didn’t feel right.

"It’s no trouble, teacher’s wife, it’s just something I do as well," Xia Zhu quickly replied. Sun Youwei’s understanding of herbs was even better than hers, especially in distinguishing them. Even as someone who passed the herbalist exam didn’t measure up.

Xia Zhu had always respected those with abilities.

"Senior sister, if Xia Zhu is willing, let her do it." Lin Miao sat down, picked up the teacup, and took a sip with a smile. "Let’s get started. Call them in one by one."

"Yes, Mr. Lin."

The first was surprisingly a child brought by his mother.

In such cases, most of the patients were children. Upon seeing the seven or eight blisters on the back of the boy’s hand, Lin Miao had a sudden realization.

Chickenpox?

This was a contagious disease, especially among children. Although he’s been running the consultation for many days, it was the first time encountering this illness.

"Little friend, open your mouth and let brother see your tongue?" Naturally, you have to be more patient with children.

"Ah... yes, very good. Do you feel very hot and thirsty?"

The little boy nodded.

"Sister-in-law, your child has been weak since childhood. Had he just recovered from an illness not long ago?" Lin Miao asked after finishing the diagnosis.

"Yes, a few days ago, he had a fever, but it got better the next day, so we didn’t pay much attention to it. In the past two days, blisters suddenly appeared all over his body, which scared us a lot. He said it itches and has scratched open quite a few, and now they’re all over his body..." The child’s mother was extremely anxious.

"Little friend, give me your wrist. Brother will check your pulse, okay?" Lin Miao smiled gently.

Severe heat and thirst, red lips and face, oral ulcers, dark and scanty urine, thick yellow tongue coating, slippery and rapid pulse, purple stagnant finger veins.

This is a typical case of exuberant toxic heat chickenpox.

The prescribed formula is Stomach-Clearing and Detoxifying Decoction: red peony root, tree peony bark, angelica, raw rehmannia, coptis, forsythia, trichosanthes root, cimicifuga, which has the effects of detoxifying, transforming dampness, clearing qi, and cooling the blood.

Externally, use decoctions of Huang Bai and purslane to wash the affected areas to alleviate symptoms.

Also, instruct the child to isolate at home, maintain hygiene, trim nails to prevent further infections from scratching the chickenpox blisters, and dietary intake should include nutritious liquid foods. Avoid spicy and stimulating foods, as well as carp, rooster, crab, and bean products.

As it was the first time encountering such a case, Lin Miao immediately had Xia Zhu and Sun Youwei study it. Additionally, the evening lesson’s content material was ready. He was teaching while learning and would focus on discussing whatever he encountered each night, expanding the topic further.

This teaching method proved quite effective. Having seen such cases, understanding became much easier and more intuitive.

Traditional Chinese medicine is a field of experiential study that cannot be learned merely from reading books.

Chickenpox is a contagious disease. After seeing this patient, Lin Miao naturally went to wash his hands and disinfect, though he wouldn’t be infected due to his constitution, it was a different story for his senior sister.

Several patients left satisfied with their prescriptions.

A plain-dressed middle-aged woman led a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl into the consultation room for the next patient.

The girl’s expression and movements were somewhat strange. As soon as she entered, she started making faces at Lin Miao, and couldn’t help but drool.

Her arms made strange movements uncontrollably, as if everything was beyond her control.

She was conscious, but her speech was unclear, so her mother described the illness on her behalf.

According to her mother, her daughter Xiaohong was playing at the door of their house a month ago, where she accidentally fell into a snow pit, soaking wet. That night she came home with a fever and was seriously ill. After taking medicine, the fever subsided, and they thought she was fine. However, a few days later, she dropped a bowl while eating and was severely scolded by her father. Following that, her limbs started moving involuntarily, she occasionally made faces at people, couldn’t walk steadily, and was suddenly startled awake at night.

Neighbors said that the child was cursed by falling into the snow pit, possessed by some evil entity, and suggested inviting a mage to exorcise it.

Xiaohong’s mother had also taken her to other clinics and had been prescribed medicine, but nothing worked; it even got worse.

During this time of treatment, Xiaohong still couldn’t stop twitching her body, constantly making faces at Lin Miao and Sun Youwei unintentionally.

Knowing she was doing it unconsciously, those who didn’t know might think she was doing it on purpose, which could easily cause others’ disapproval or even conflicts.

During her episodes, Xiaohong’s mother did not allow her to work at the embroidery house. Xiaohong had been learning embroidery there, which would become a skill she could rely on for a job, which is quite decent.

But as she is now, she couldn’t even hold a needle, let alone embroider. Xiaohong’s mother was naturally worried, especially as Xiaohong was at the age to consider marriage proposals.

Her unmarried daughter would become an additional burden on the family, and neighbors might gossip.

They said Xiaohong went mad after falling ill.

But her daughter was conscious, just unable to control her bodily movements...

The family wasn’t well-off, and seeking medical treatment had already cost them a lot. Now, they somehow heard of Lin Miao and came here.

Renowned medical skills at exceptionally low consultation fees, just ten coins.

Besides the young age of the physician, there were no other problems, so the mother brought her daughter early in the morning to queue up.

Because of the distance, they didn’t get an early number, but at least they secured one, making the trip worthwhile.

He examined the tongue coating and also checked the pulse.

The tongue was dark red with a greasy white coating, indicating phlegm and internal heat stagnation. The left Guan pulse was wiry and slightly rapid; wiry and rapid indicates heat, with issues in the liver.

Differentiation: Damp-heat accumulation, liver wind stirring internally.

This is what traditional Chinese medicine refers to as a manifestation of chaos or madness.

This case was rare. After diagnosing the pulse, Lin Miao asked Sun Youwei to personally examine it, arriving at the same conclusion as Lin Miao.

However, Sun Youwei had not encountered this disease before. She could prescribe, but the outcome was uncertain.

Lin Miao pondered silently for a while. Of course, he could write a prescription, but two ingredients would be hard to find.

However, this formula is the most effective treatment for Xiaohong.

"Mr. Lin, can my daughter be treated?"

"Yes, auntie. Rest assured, although few have this illness, it’s not an incurable disease and can be treated." Lin Miao quickly reassured, "The challenge is not in treating the illness, but in finding the medication."

"It’s hard to find the medication?"

Xiaohong’s mother was shocked. Her family couldn’t afford or sustain expensive medicines.

"Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll prescribe you the formula first. We’ll help you find the ingredients. If we can’t find them, I’ll think of another solution for you," Lin Miao said.

"Okay, okay, thank you, Mr. Lin." Xiaohong’s mother felt immense gratitude upon hearing this. She had never met such a good physician before.

The formula was Lingniu Calming Wind Decoction: antelope bone, buffalo horn (both decocted first), then add mulberry parasite, honeysuckle vine, reed root, centipede, earthworm (dried worm), stephania root, coix seed, and raw loess clay.