louisehourcade Chapter 68 The Automatic Herbal Decoction Machine and the Insomniac Tiger
Chapter 68 The Automatic Herbal Decoction Machine and the Insomniac Tiger
In the early morning, the air in the old streets of Changxiang City is filled with a peculiar aroma that blends cumin and charcoal.
In the newly expanded lobby of Renxin Pharmacy, a whole roasted lamb, sizzling with oil, sits prominently on a mahogany table that was originally used for writing prescriptions.
Guan Shan held a leg of lamb in his hand, eating it with his mouth full of oil, like a black bear guarding its food.
Although Li Siyuan and Zhao Na were wearing white coats, they didn't care about being polite and were happily gnawing on a piece of rib each.
Only Su Qing was more "meticulous." She used a scalpel to cut the mutton into evenly thin slices, neatly arranged them on a plate, and studied the texture of the mutton while eating.
"This sheep's hind leg muscles are firm, indicating it had a lot of exercise while alive. It died a worthy death," Su Qing commented expressionlessly, putting a piece of meat into her mouth.
Wang Minyu, holding a stainless steel tea mug, sat behind the counter, looked at the pack of hungry wolves, and shook his head.
"Eat faster." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "We're going to have a 'big problem' coming our way today."
As soon as he finished speaking, instead of the wind chimes at the door ringing, a dull screech of brakes was heard first.
Three black Hongqi sedans were parked silently on the side of the road, their license plates numbering the kind that even traffic police wouldn't dare to issue tickets to.
The car door opened, and four burly men in black suits and wearing headsets got out and quickly occupied the four corners of the pharmacy entrance, scanning their surroundings warily.
Immediately afterwards, the back door of the middle car opened, and Fang Qin got out of the car first, then carefully helped an elderly person out.
The old man was wearing a faded gray Zhongshan suit, and his hair was gray but neatly combed.
He leaned on a cane, and although his back was somewhat hunched, his eyes were frighteningly bright, like an eagle's, carrying an imposing and menacing aura.
At this moment, however, his eagle eyes were bloodshot, his eye bags were dark, and he exuded extreme anxiety and exhaustion.
"Dr. Wang." Fang Qin entered the shop, her attitude much more respectful than last time, even a little ingratiating. "This is Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen hasn't been sleeping well lately and would like to ask you to take a look."
Wang Minyu didn't get up, remaining seated in his chair, and took a sip of tea: "Not sleeping well? Director Fang, your wording is too subtle. This old man hasn't slept for at least four days, has he?"
A middle-aged doctor wearing gold-rimmed glasses behind Old Chen immediately frowned: "How did you know?"
"I could smell it." Wang Minyu pointed to his nose. "He smelled like burnt electrical wires. That's the smell of liver fire short-circuiting the nerves in his brain."
Old Chen looked up, his gaze fixed intently on Wang Minyu: "Interesting. Those experts from the provincial hospital spent ages examining him with their instruments, but they weren't as sensitive as your nose. Xiao Fang said you're an eccentric doctor, and it seems he's right."
"Whether it's strange or not is another matter; the key is whether it can be cured." Wang Minyu put down his teacup. "The registration fee is one hundred; pay first, then see the doctor. Also, tell those guys in black suits at the door to spread out; they're blocking my view."
The doctor with gold-rimmed glasses scoffed, "Old Chen's identity..."
"There are no identities here, only patients," Wang Minyu interrupted him. "Either follow my rules, or turn left after you leave and go to the Second Hospital. The air conditioning is great there, and the service is good."
Old Chen waved his hand, signaling his entourage to leave.
He shakily pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and slammed it on the counter: "Young man, you've got quite the nerve. If you can't cure me, this cane of mine won't stand idly by."
Wang Minyu accepted the money and activated the [Aura Observation Technique].
The system panel pops up:
Patient: Chen Guodong, 76 years old.
Symptoms: Intractable insomnia (severe), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and nerve compression from old shrapnel residue.
[Status: On the verge of collapse. The cerebral cortex is in a state of continuous high-frequency discharge, like an engine idling at high speed.]
[Note: This is a wounded tiger. He dares not sleep, because if he falls asleep, he will return to the battlefield.]
"You're afraid to sleep." Wang Minyu turned off the control panel, his voice calm. "As soon as you close your eyes, you can hear gunfire and see dead bodies, right?"
Old Chen's hand suddenly trembled, and his cane struck the floor tiles with a crisp sound.
The surrounding air froze instantly.
Fang Qin was so nervous that she didn't dare to breathe.
That was Old Chen's deepest concern and a taboo subject; no one had ever dared to expose it so bluntly.
"Nonsense!" the doctor with gold-rimmed glasses retorted angrily. "Old Chen suffers from neurasthenia!"
"Neurosis my ass." Wang Minyu stood up, walked around the counter to Old Chen, and said, "He's afraid. Afraid that his comrades in his dreams will come looking for him, afraid that he won't wake up. Old man, your illness is incurable. Because you want to die, but you're afraid to die."
Old Chen stared intently at Wang Minyu, his chest heaving violently.
After a long pause, he suddenly laughed, his voice hoarse: "Good lad. Anyone who dares to talk to me like that is buried in the ground. You're right, I'm too scared to sleep. Do you have a plan?"
"Yes." Wang Minyu turned and walked towards the back room. "But it'll be a bit of a hassle. Guan Shan, bring out that big guy from the backyard."
"Okay!"
A heavy metallic scraping sound came from the backyard.
A moment later, Guan Shan came out carrying a machine with an extremely strange shape.
The machine is about half a person tall and is made entirely of brass and stainless steel. It is covered with complex pipes, valves and dials, and has a rotating device at the top that looks like a radar.
This is a new product unlocked in version 3.0 of the system store – the 【Fully Automatic High-Pressure Cyclone Decoction Machine】.
"What is this?" The doctor with the gold-rimmed glasses stared in disbelief. "A boiler?"
"This is a coffin lid so he can sleep in." Wang Minyu patted the machine's casing. "Siyuan, go get the medicine. Five catties of jujube seeds, three catties of Polygonum multiflorum stem, and two catties of Albizia julibrissin bark. All of them must be raw, don't wash them."
"Five catties?!" Li Siyuan's jaw nearly dropped in shock. "Master, that dose could poison a cow!"
"Who told him to drink it?" Wang Minyu rolled his eyes at him. "This medicine is for 'listening'."
He opened the machine's lid, stuffed in all the earthy-smelling herbs, and then poured in a bucket of cool water drawn from the well in the backyard.
"Old Chen, take off your shoes and step on that pedal." Wang Minyu pointed to a copper pedal under the machine.
Old Chen looked at him suspiciously, but still did as he was told.
Wang Minyu pressed the start button.
"boom--"
The machine emitted a deep roar and then began to spin at high speed.
The sound was strange; it wasn't noise, but rather a rhythmic beat similar to a heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump... each thud felt like a blow to the chest.
As the machine operates, the "radar" at the top begins to emit white mist.
The mist didn't dissipate; instead, as if it were alive, it settled on the ground and quickly submerged Old Chen's ankles.
A strong, almost suffocating herbal scent filled the air.
"This is sonic vibration extraction," Wang Minyu explained with a fervent look in his eyes. "Using low-frequency sound waves, the drug molecules are shattered into nanoscale particles and injected directly into your kidney meridian through the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of your foot. At the same time, this sound forces your heart rate to synchronize with it."
The doctor with gold-rimmed glasses tried to rush forward and unplug the power: "This is witchcraft! High-concentration drugs absorbed through the skin will burden the liver and kidneys..."
"Su Qing, tell him to shut up." Wang Minyu didn't even turn his head.
Su Qing toyed with the scalpel in her hand, giving the gold-rimmed glasses a cold look: "You can try and see if your mouth is faster or my scalpel is faster."
The doctor immediately fell silent.
Old Chen sat in the chair, initially tensing his body, trying to resist the strange vibration.
But gradually, he felt a warm current coming from the soles of his feet, climbing up his calves.
The warm current traveled through my knees, thighs, waist and abdomen, and finally rushed straight to my head.
The pain in my temples, which had felt like being pricked with needles, suddenly stopped.
The auditory hallucinations that constantly echoed in my ears—the sounds of gunfire and screams—were gradually replaced by the monotonous, steady "thump-thump" of the machines.
His eyelids started to droop, as if they weighed a ton.
"Don't sleep!" Wang Minyu suddenly shouted in his ear.
Old Chen suddenly woke up and glared at Wang Minyu.
"It's not time yet." Wang Minyu held a stick of sandalwood in his hand and waved it near the machine's vent. "If you sleep now, you'll be in a coma. I need deep sleep. Guan Shan, bring the equipment."
Guan Shan chuckled and pulled out a... huge wooden hammer from under the counter.