Chapter 5: Essentials of the Critical Points

What is "Jue Mai"? Could it be a type of pulse? Mo Can could not figure it out. In this book, could there be another one hidden called "Jue Mai Yao Lue"? It seems that if one wants to know, they might need to apply some snake blood. However, since snake blood can reveal characters, I wonder if other types of blood can do the same.

At this moment, Mo Can's fingers have already gone numb. It seems that tomorrow I need to think of a way to get some chicken blood or pig blood; constantly drawing my own blood is not a solution.

Sir, you understand so much

Next, Mo Can read a few passages, "Since ancient times, there have been ten absolute meridians, among which 'Yandao', 'Zhuandou', and 'Machu' are included within the seven meridians, hence the world refers to them as the 'Seven Absolute Meridians'. The true way of medicine lies in the true medicine; without true medicine, there is no medical way. What is meant by true medicine ... ... ..."

Do all ailments in the world ultimately manifest as the Seven Absolute Pulses?

Who wrote this book "Essentials of the Severed Pulse" and why is it hidden within "Mu's Abdominal Speech Technique"? Has Mr. Mu never discovered it? It is no wonder, as it is a family heirloom of the Mu family; who would intentionally smear blood on it? If he had not accidentally come into contact with snake blood, he might have never uncovered this secret

Xiabashan chewed on a chicken leg while explaining: "In ancient times, there was a saying in the medical field about the 'Seven Fatal Pulses,' which refers to pulse signs that indicate certain death. The 'sparrow pecking pulse' signifies liver failure, the 'leaky roof pulse' indicates stomach failure, the 'stone bouncing pulse' represents kidney failure, the 'tangled rope pulse' denotes spleen failure, the 'fish soaring pulse' signifies heart failure, the 'shrimp swimming pulse' indicates large intestine failure, and the 'boiling pot pulse' represents lung failure. Once these seven fatal pulse signs appear, death is inevitable, and there is no hope for treatment."

Mo Can's ventriloquism has achieved some success; although he cannot yet imitate the sounds of birds and beasts, he can mimic the accents of others with about eighty percent similarity

Mo Can stood still in place, observing that the body of the white flower snake seemed somewhat stiff, with translucent snake skin visible at the waist, slowly shedding towards the tail

What a pity? It is difficult to comprehend the remnants.

On the morning of the second day, when Mo Can went to the market to buy vegetables, he deliberately brought back a large rooster. While killing the chicken, he collected a small bowl of blood, and then returned to his room, dipping his fingers in the chicken blood to smear it onto the pages of a book. After applying it to about seven or eight sheets of paper, he hid the book once the blood stains had dried, being careful not to apply too much to any one page, as it would easily stick together.

Although this white flower snake is poisonous, it can ward off wind and evil, making it an excellent remedy for treating strokes and leprosy, though it is rare and difficult to obtain. The method of capturing it is quite peculiar; one must throw sand from the ground onto its body, causing the snake to immediately contract as if flour were meeting water. At that moment, one can use a wooden fork to pin its head down and capture it.

He pondered that it was the blood of the white flower snake that had stained the paper, causing the characters hidden on the cover to become visible, while the text within the book remained untouched by the snake's blood, thus rendering it invisible.

What kind of patients exhibit the Seven Absolute Pulse?

It turned out that it was shedding its skin, and Mo Can suddenly realized. Adult snakes shed their skin about three times a year, likely because the original epidermis can no longer cover their growing bodies. Each shedding process takes approximately the time of half a stick of incense, and this is precisely when their defenses are at their weakest.

A strange hissing sound suddenly echoed in my ears. Upon focusing my gaze, I discovered a venomous snake coiled beneath a brown plant, its body as thick as a wrist and covered in grayish-yellow diamond-shaped patches. Its triangular head bore some black "bead-like spots" on the head, belly, and throat. The scales at the tip of its tail stood erect like bone spines, and its vigilant eyes fixed on Mo Can, while its pink forked tongue flicked and hissed.

This passage seems to discuss various pulse patterns of the Jingmai, but I have never felt a pulse myself, so I do not understand the reasons behind it

He closed the book and placed it under the pillow, closed his eyes, but despite tossing and turning, he still could not fall asleep

When he extinguished the light again, the green luminescent writing on the cover reappeared, but upon opening the pages, there was nothing inside

At that moment, something slipped from Mo Can's embrace and fell into the bloodstained ground; it turned out to be the book "Mu's Ventriloquism Technique." He hurriedly picked up the book, but the cover had already been tainted by blood.

At dusk, Mo Can returned to the city

Suddenly, his gaze came to a halt. A few zhang below the cliff lay a small patch of reddish-brown scorched earth, as if it had been burned by fire, completely bare with not a blade of grass in sight. In the center stood a brown stalk, taller than two men and as thick as an arm, devoid of any branches or leaves. At the top, a flower spike over two feet long appeared white with a hint of black, resembling the gray hair of an old woman.

"Sir, what is the concept of 'Juemai'?" Mo Can seized the opportunity to ask.

Strangely, this Gastrodia elata is remarkably tall, and he stepped closer to take a closer look

The white flowered snake before me must be the guardian of this Gastrodia elata. If that is the case, could it not be an old Gastrodia elata over a hundred years old? Upon this thought, I could not help but feel a surge of excitement in my heart

Upon seeing a half-basket of top-quality Tianma, Xiabashan was simply overjoyed, unable to close his mouth: "Tianma possesses the ability to kill evil spirits, dispel toxic energies, and has the effects of promoting longevity and enhancing physical health. This white flower snake is even rarer; 'four taels can be worth ten thousand'! What a pity."

Today’s harvest was quite good, and Mo Canxin felt very pleased with himself

During dinner, facing the wine and meat, Shabashan was in an excellent mood

The seven pulse types are essential for physicians to study; otherwise, if they encounter a case of pulse cessation and still prescribe medication, not only will they fail to cure the patient, but they will also provide the patient's family with grounds to claim that the physician caused the death. Is this not inviting trouble upon oneself

Mo Can raised the bamboo basket and rushed forward to cover it, trapping the white flower snake inside. He then drew a machete from his waist, gently lifting the bamboo basket to create a narrow opening, holding his breath and waiting anxiously.

In the middle of the night, Mo Can felt an urgent need to relieve himself, so he turned over, got out of bed, and went outside to do so

Under the faint light of the oil lamp, he took out the book "The Art of Ventiloquism by Mr. Mu" to browse through it again. The bloodstains on the cover had dried up, appearing dirty and black. One wonders what Mr. Mu would think if he saw it. Almost a year had passed in the blink of an eye, yet there had been no news from Mr. Mu. What treasure had he ultimately found

It is now the third watch of the night, deep and quiet, and one can faintly hear the rhythmic snoring of Xia Bashan sleeping next door

The white flower snake's pink tongue first emerged, followed closely by the snake's head, which was forcefully pushed out... Just as the moment seemed to stretch, Mo Can's machete suddenly swung down with great force, and with a "crack" sound, blood splattered as the snake's head was severed.

Of course, when a person dies, at least one of the seven organs—liver, kidneys, spleen, stomach, heart, lungs, and large intestine—must be completely lost. Xia Bashan chuckled twice.

Mo Can put down the backpack, using the medicinal hoe to dig forcefully, revealing several oval-shaped light brown tubers in the soil, characterized by wrinkles resembling ginger skin and speckled with dark brown sesame dots, which can be considered high-quality Gastrodia elata. Each plant of Gastrodia elata has twelve tubers at its root, each the size of ginger, filling half of the backpack.

They are all individuals whose illnesses have reached a critical stage. Whenever a physician detects the Seven Absolute Pulse, they will inform the family to prepare for the final arrangements. Xia Bashan swallowed a mouthful of wine

Autumn has arrived, marking the golden season for gathering medicinal herbs

The "Buddha's Fingernail"! Suddenly, Mo Can's heart tightened. He had heard from the hunters in the village that the most venomous snake in the mountains is the "Five Steps Down," known in medical terms as the "White Flower Snake." It is said that a person bitten by this snake can only take five steps at most before their hair stands on end and they die. The most distinctive feature of this snake is the spines at the end of its tail, commonly referred to as the "Buddha's Fingernail." This snake has an extremely fierce temperament; when it is cornered with no way out, it will turn its tail hook to cut open its own belly and commit suicide, maintaining its gaze until death.

On this day, while gathering herbs, he discovered a small patch of Gastrodia elata at the base of a sheer cliff with a reddish-brown precipice. The plants stood about four to five feet tall, featuring a single stem with a flower spike over a foot long, which was yellowish-white at the top. The ground was clustered with groups of white mushrooms, a type of fungus that coexists with the Gastrodia elata.

Xiabashan once mentioned that the medicinal herbs in the mountains absorb the essence of the sun and moon, and if they can grow for several hundred years, their medicinal properties are comparable to those of celestial herbs. However, they are mostly hidden deep within remote mountains and forests, guarded by venomous insects and fierce beasts, making them difficult for ordinary people to encounter

He paused to catch his breath before beginning to dig up the large Gastrodia elata. The soil turned over to reveal a tuber the size of a palm, mottled and white, with sparse white hairs growing on it. Bringing it close to his nose, he detected a faint fragrance that was refreshing to the lungs. A typical Gastrodia elata produces twelve tubers, but this old one had only this single tuber. Mo Can carefully kicked it into his embrace, intending to keep it for himself

Mo Can opened the book, gently bit the tip of his finger, and squeezed out some fresh blood, which he then smeared in order from top to bottom on the first page. In a moment, the places where the blood was applied in the darkness indeed revealed lines of greenish characters, which read: "When a calamity descends from the heavens, a remedy must arise from the earth. There are seven absolute ailments in the world, for which there is no physician. Little do they know, there exists a physician for the ailments that have no physician, and no ailment that is without a physician, for they have yet to glimpse the true path of medicine..."

Mo Can could not pay attention to the faint pain in his fingertips, and he forcefully squeezed out some blood to smear it on the book. It then states, "The verse says: The sparrow pecks continuously, stopping and then starting again. Water leaks from the roof, falling every half a moment. The stone is plucked from the string, pressing it causes the fingers to strike. Sometimes sparse, sometimes dense, tangled like untied ropes. The principal and interest have not shaken, the fish soar similarly. The shrimp swims slowly, suddenly leaping. The pot boils with nothing floating, utterly without foundation. The knife lies flat and sharp, following the blade's edge. The beans turn in abundance, as if following the coix seeds. The hemp is hurried and chaotic, its pulse losing its spirit. The principal and interest have not shaken, the fish soar similarly. The shrimp swims slowly, suddenly leaping. The pot boils with nothing floating, utterly without foundation. The knife lies flat and sharp, following the blade's edge. The beans turn in abundance, as if following the coix seeds. The hemp is hurried and chaotic, its pulse losing its spirit. There are ten kinds of severed pulses, known since ancient times."

Without further ado, Mo Can swiftly emptied the gastrodia from the backpack, using a medicinal hoe to dig up some sandy soil at his feet. He then grabbed several handfuls and threw them towards the white flowered snake. After the snake's slimy skin was coated with dirt, it indeed coiled up, emitting a menacing hiss from its mouth

Xiabashan explained: "After catching the white flower snake, one must immediately dissect it to remove the intestines and internal organs, then wipe off the blood stains and roll it into a ball. Next, secure it with bamboo skewers and dry it. The sooner this is done, the higher the medicinal efficacy." After saying this, he hurriedly prepared the white flower snake.

Upon returning to the room and climbing into bed in the dark, I inadvertently discovered glowing specks beside my pillow. Leaning down to take a closer look, I realized it was that book "The Mu's Ventriloquism." Focusing intently, I could faintly make out the greenish characters of "Essentials of Pulse Diagnosis" on the cover. What is this? I hurriedly lit the oil lamp, but could see nothing at all, only the dark bloodstains.

He weighed the small medicinal hoe in his hand; the handle was too short and would certainly be no match for the white flower snake. However, how could he let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away

In the evening, Mo Can closed the door to his room, took out the old Tianma from his bosom, and gazed at it fondly for quite a while before wrapping it in yellow paper and placing it on the beam to dry in the shade

Mo Can thought for a moment, and understood the general meaning of this sentence. It conveys that every disease in the world can be treated with a corresponding medicine, while the seven fatal conditions are deemed incurable. However, it is not known that there are only doctors who cannot cure diseases, and there are no diseases that cannot be treated. This is due to the lack of understanding of the true medical principles.