Dr. Chai's brow furrowed as he scrutinized Mo Lixia. He had initially assumed she was just another patient, but now...
"Do you have business here?" he asked cautiously.
Mo Lixia offered a calm nod and signaled to Hongshang. From a small, ornate box, Hongshang produced the yellow jade seal and presented it. Before Lixia could even speak, Dr. Chai's eyes widened in shock. His frail, trembling frame bent low in a profound bow. "Are you... the Young Master? Chai Hu pays respects to the Little Master!"
Lixia quickly reached out to stop him. "Uncle Chai, you have worked hard these past few years."
"My Master entrusted me with this shop," he replied, his voice thick with emotion. "I dared not slacken for even a moment. But I am old now, and my strength is failing me."
Lixia nodded understandingly, then turned her focus back to the little girl's arm. "Old Doctor Chai, I think it best if I treat this child first."
The brawny father looked at her with blatant skepticism. "Young lady, can you actually cure her?"
"I can," Lixia replied with a reassuring smile.
Seeing her composed and confident manner, the man's expression softened slightly, though his tone remained gruff. "Fine. But let it be known—if you fail to cure my daughter, your clinic will never open its doors again."
Hongshang bristled, ready to throw a punch at the man's arrogance, but Lixia stopped her with a glance. In this profession, one encountered all sorts of temperaments; there was no need to take every insult to heart.
"Don't worry," Mochen added indignantly. "My Master's medical skills aren't just for show!"
The Preparation for Surgery
Lixia inspected the wound again. "As the old doctor said, herbal decoctions alone won't work now. We must incise the abscess to drain the pus and scrape away the necrotic tissue. Do you have a small blade?"
"We do!" Dr. Chai immediately sent the medicine boy to fetch it.
A gasp echoed through the room. In ancient medicine, internal medicine was far more developed than surgery. TCM "surgery" usually involved conservative topical treatments. Actual incisions were rare because of the lack of knowledge regarding bacteria and infection; a minor procedure often led to fatal sepsis. Furthermore, there were few effective ways to handle bleeding and agony.
Dr. Chai, however, maintained absolute trust in Lixia. In his mind, a disciple of the "Eccentric Doctor Qian" would never be mediocre.
For Mo Lixia, this minor procedure was child's play. Her education had emphasized the integration of Chinese and Western medicine for common ailments, and she had excelled in acupuncture anesthesia and acute abdominal treatments.
Seeing the worried faces of Xiqiu and Hongshang, Lixia realized she needed to display her skills to win their confidence. They were her inner circle; they had to adapt to these scenes.
"The child is in a lot of pain. I will start by relieving it," Lixia said, producing her silver needles. Without rapid-acting painkillers or modern anesthetics, she would rely on acupoint anesthesia.
She turned to Mochen. "Watch closely."
"Yes, Master!"
Lixia then issued rapid orders to the medicine boy: "Five mace each of Sophora flavescens (Ku Shen), Phellodendron (Huang Bai), Blue-gum (Da Ye An), and Cnidium (She Chuang Zi). Boil them for a wash. Also, prepare another decoction of Rhubarb (Da Huang), Scutellaria (Huang Qin), Phellodendron, Gardenia (Zhi Zi), and Honeysuckle (Yin Hua). Filter both through gauze and bring the liquid to me."
TCM Logic Note: These herbal disinfectants utilize the antibacterial and antiviral properties of TCM without the side effects of harsh chemical agents, perfect for skin sterilization and cavity irrigation.
"And one more thing," Lixia added. "Crush five mace each of Coptis (Huang Lian) and Nux Vomica (Ma Qian Zi) and soak them in high-proof Shaodaozi liquor." Since she didn't have pure medical alcohol on hand and couldn't wait to fetch her own supplies, this was the best immediate substitute.
The medicine boy dashed off. Xiqiu and Hongshang stepped forward. "Miss, how can we help?"
"Fetch a basin of boiled warm water with a teaspoon of salt, some clean gauze, and a small bundle of cotton."
The Procedure
Once the supplies arrived, Lixia used the Ku Shen decoction to wash the girl's arm and the areas for needle insertion. She sterilized her silver needles with the medicated cotton.
With a steady hand, she targeted the Du Channel at the 6th thoracic vertebra. Her right hand moved with surgical speed, inserting the needle and gently rotating it before leaving it in place. She repeated the process at the Houxi and Hegu points.
Within moments, the child's agonizing screams subsided into quiet whimpers. The girl's dark eyes darted around, looking energized now that the sharp pain had faded.
The mother burst into tears of relief, gazing at Lixia with profound gratitude. Even Dr. Chai let out a sigh of relief, his eyes gleaming with professional admiration.
The medicine boy brought a small stove to the center of the hall, setting a basin of water on the fire to boil the blade, gauze, and a set of clean chopsticks.
Lixia disinfected her hands with the herbal wash. She took the sterilized blade and made a precise incision into the center of the abscess. The father and mother, now fully trusting her, didn't move a muscle.
She turned the blade upward and widened the opening from the inside out, allowing the thick pus to drain. Using the chopsticks as a guide and probe, she extended the incision to the edges of the infected area until the abscess was completely exposed. Then, she flushed the cavity with the Da Huang disinfectant wash.
Finally, she began the most painful part: debridement. She carefully snipped away the blackened, rotting flesh around the edges of the wound. The girl began to cry again from the deep-tissue sensation.
"Hold her tight," Lixia commanded the father. "Do not let her move!"