The old man sighed with emotion. "But I was stubborn and had been in the cattle shed. After I came out, I didn't take on an apprentice, so I ended up taking all my skills into my coffin. What a pity."

As he spoke, the old man raised his arm. "Look at this arm of mine. It was broken back then, and it was that old master who set it for me. It's been over forty years, and there hasn't been a single problem."

Du Heng nodded in full agreement with the old man's sentiment. "Indeed. This bone-setting skill is exceptional. It's truly a pity it wasn't passed down."

These words clearly pleased the old man. He chuckled and said, "Your skills aren't bad either. With just a touch, you knew my hand was injured when I was young."

Du Heng chuckled as well. He wouldn't take the compliment further. "Uncle, let's talk about your illness."

After this exchange, all the old man's doubts about Du Heng vanished. He said cheerfully, "Alright, please, take a good look for me. I'm counting on you."

Du Heng maintained his smile, encouraging the old man to relax. He then asked softly, "Uncle, you don't smile much at home, do you?"

"That's right. My old partner passed away two years ago. During the day, I'm all alone at home. In the evening, when my children and grandchildren come home from work and school, they're busy with their own jobs and studies. There's no one to talk to, let alone smile with."

The smile that had been on the old man's face slowly faded, and his expression dimmed.

"You miss your old partner?"

"Very much."

Du Heng sighed inwardly. "No matter how much you miss her, you still have to eat. How can you go on if you don't eat?"

"When my old partner first passed away, I had no appetite. Later, even when I didn't see food, I'd feel desperately hungry. But as soon as I sat at the table and smelled the food, I'd start to feel nauseous. *Sigh*, I went to the hospital. They said something was wrong with my Spleen and Stomach. I also went to the clinic in our neighborhood; they said I had qi deficiency. Anyway, nothing they prescribed worked."

Excessive worry has led to this illness, coupled with an irregular diet. And the pulse is deep and slow. It does seem like an injury to the Spleen and Stomach. Not entirely correct, but it's in the ballpark, Du Heng thought. He then said slowly to the old man, "As for the doctor who said you have qi deficiency, that's utter nonsense. One cannot simply diagnose qi deficiency based on shortness of breath. That's not right."

The old man flushed with anger. "That son of a bitch! I knew it! I took so much of his medicine, and it had no effect. Turns out he didn't diagnose me properly at all! No, I'm going back to get my money back."

Then, looking at Du Heng, he asked, "So... Dean Du, what exactly is my problem?"

"It's a case of reversed Yin and Yang."

"What?"

Not only was the old man dumbfounded, but Doctor Ma also looked completely baffled.

Seeing their confusion, Du Heng calmly began to explain. "The heart and lungs reside in the Upper Jiao, which is in the chest cavity. If the heart and lungs are healthy, a person's complexion will be lustrous and bright. The liver and kidneys are in the Lower Jiao, in the abdominal cavity; they nourish the muscles and bones and strengthen the body from within. Thus, one's physical strength can be assessed by looking at the liver and kidneys. The Spleen and Stomach are in the Middle Jiao; they transform food essence and distribute it to nourish the other four organs."

"Therefore, a person's overall health depends heavily on the qi of their Spleen and Stomach. If the Spleen and Stomach are injured, the other four organs will lack their source of nourishment. When the Spleen and Stomach fall ill, all four organs suffer."

Du Heng spoke unhurriedly, first laying out the root cause of the illness before continuing, "Uncle, your constant worrying has caused stagnation of your Spleen and Stomach qi. Your irregular eating habits have damaged your Spleen and Stomach qi. This is why a doctor told you that your Spleen and Stomach were injured."

After a brief pause, Du Heng added, "However, that doctor's considerations were incomplete, and his syndrome differentiation was unclear. He failed to identify the true crux of the problem, which is why your condition couldn't be resolved."

"The mouth is the passage for spleen qi, and the lips are its gateway. Spleen qi communicates through the mouth and its condition is reflected on the lips. Normally, a person's lips should be red, dark red, or at worst, purplish. But your lips are black."

"This is because Metal and Water are rebelling against Earth, causing black to manifest on your lips."

"Normally, the qi of Lung Metal should ascend and connect to the mouth and nose. However, in your case, it is descending to the Spleen and Stomach. This is a reversal of Yin and Yang. Furthermore, Uncle, your complexion is scorched black. This indicates a decline in your Yangming stomach meridian, which is why your face has this burnt appearance. This also reflects a deficiency of both Yin and Yang qi in your Spleen and Stomach."

"Therefore, merely treating the Spleen and Stomach without rectifying the imbalance of Yin and Yang qi will not truly resolve your problem."

When Du Heng finished his explanation, the old man said, looking bewildered, "My illness is that complicated?" He then looked at Du Heng and asked hopefully, "Can I still be cured?"

Du Heng smiled. "Of course. It can be cured by ascending Yang and dispersing Yin."

Then he turned to Doctor Ma and said, "Write a prescription, please: Ephedra, Parsnip, Angelica Dahurica, Root Poria, Blast-fried Ginger... ten doses."

He then told the old man, "Take one dose of this medicine each day. For the best effect, drink it between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m."

The old man nodded earnestly. "Alright, I've got it."

Du Heng leaned back. While Doctor Ma was typing up the disease record, he said to the old man, "Uncle, when you go home, try to lighten your mood. Eat well, drink well, and make sure to talk more with your family."

"The departed have passed on. It's fine to cherish their memory, but you mustn't let yourself get stuck in grief."

"You just said that your son and daughter-in-law still have to work overtime when they get home, and your grandchildren have their homework."

"Everyone is under a lot of pressure in today's society. If you don't work hard, plenty of others will. And if you don't strive to move forward, you'll be left behind."

"As the head of the family, you're their role model. If you're always downcast, it will be hard for your children to focus on their work and studies."

The old man sighed deeply. "Ah, I know all that. But my mind just wanders off on its own. I can't help it."

"Don't worry about that anymore," Du Heng reassured him. "Go home, take your medicine on time, go for walks after meals, find some old friends to play chess with, or perhaps even join the old ladies for some square dancing. Your mood will naturally lift."

The old man chuckled, amused. "You're a funny kid. At my age, you want me to go dancing with old ladies? No way, I'd be too embarrassed."

Seeing the old man laugh, Du Heng laughed too. "You're only sixty-eight, not so old that you can't walk! Besides, what's wrong with joining in some square dancing? Don't worry, I'm sure your children would be very supportive of you getting out more."

With that, the old man took his payment receipt and left in high spirits.

Du Heng then turned to Doctor Ma, a smile playing on his lips. "So, do you understand what was going on now?"

Doctor Ma nodded, a bit embarrassed. "When I saw your fingers splayed outwards during the palpation, I had an inkling. It's the dorsal styloid pulse, isn't it?"

"That's right, it's the dorsal styloid pulse. To be more precise, the old man has an oblique flying pulse. This was caused by an external injury. The bone setting at the time wasn't handled perfectly, so the pulse pathway deviated more than it should have."

"Ah, the dorsal styloid pulse and the oblique flying pulse... these occur due to physiological variations or external injuries, causing the radial artery to run along the back of the wrist joint instead." Doctor Ma sighed. "My teacher mentioned them once in school when discussing ectopic pulses. I've been working for over ten years since then and never encountered a case. I'd completely forgotten about it. I'm truly ashamed."

Du Heng chuckled. "I was lucky; there was a question about this on my junior certification exam. But really, you shouldn't have panicked so much today. A living person can have a weak pulse or a thready pulse, but they absolutely cannot have no pulse at all."