Chapter 139 — A Shocked Guan Xuemin

"Heh, I did it for a while." Wei Zhao nodded. "So of course I have to thank you on behalf of my squad members."

"Since Mr. Lin puts it that way, I won't stand on ceremony either. This way to the study, please. I have a few difficult medical questions, and I hope Mr. Lin will be generous enough to enlighten me," Guan Xuemin said.

"Call me Wei Zhao, or Xiao Yi. 'Mr. Lin' sounds a bit awkward." Wei Zhao said. "Enlighten is too strong a word. Let's just compare notes."

"Fine, then I'll take the liberty of calling you Xiao Yi. And you needn't call me Director Guan either. Grandpa Guan or Old Guan would be better. Hearing you say 'Director' makes me a little ashamed." Guan Xuemin was not one for affectation; after all, his age was what it was. In terms of seniority he was an elder to Yang Huaijun, and Wei Zhao was of the same generation as Yang Huaijun, so there was no loss in the boy calling him Grandpa Guan.

"Then I'll call you Grandpa Guan." Wei Zhao was easygoing about it. He was not an arrogant man; give him a foot and he would return a yard. If you were courteous to him, he would naturally respect you all the more.

The two of them went into the study. Yang Huaijun knew nothing of medicine, so going in would have been useless; this time he had only come as a go-between, and now that his task was done, there was nothing more for him to do.

"Grandpa Guan, you two talk. I'll watch some TV outside." Yang Huaijun did not enter the study; he spoke from the doorway.

"That's fine too. Make yourself at home. If you want something to eat, just take it from the kitchen." Guan Xuemin nodded. He knew Yang Huaijun would have no interest in this sort of occasion anyway.

Guan Xuemin's study was steeped in the air of a scholar. Long bookshelves lined both walls, crammed with medical texts, from Chinese medicine to Western medicine, from thread-bound handwritten copies to foreign-language originals, everything one could wish for.

"I'm afraid you'll find it laughable." Seeing Wei Zhao surveying the shelves, Guan Xuemin smiled. "Many of these books are more show than substance. Fine for a casual browse, but if you truly want to learn something from them, it's hard going."

"The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon is worthwhile, though. It was the first book I studied when I began learning." Wei Zhao nodded, pointing to several volumes on one side of the shelf.

"The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, indeed one of the last surviving treasures of Chinese medicine." Guan Xuemin nodded. "But what a pity..."

"A pity?" Wei Zhao was puzzled by his words. "Grandpa Guan, a pity in what way?"

"A pity that the Book of Han's Treatise on Literature and Arts records eleven schools of medical classics, and today only the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon remains!" Guan Xuemin said regretfully. "If the Inner Canon is already so remarkable, one can only imagine how much better the others must have been!"

"Heh." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. Looking at the anguish on Guan Xuemin's face, he did not know what to say.

"Judging by the 'seven classics' recorded in the Book of Han's Treatise on Literature and Arts, those that existed alongside the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon at the time included the Yellow Emperor's Outer Canon, Bian Que's Inner Canon, Bian Que's Outer Canon, the Bai Clan's Inner Canon, the Bai Clan's Outer Canon, and the Miscellaneous Chapters." Guan Xuemin had not noticed Wei Zhao's expression; speaking of such sorrowful regrets, he was nearly beside himself with grief. "If those still existed, the golden age of Chinese medicine would be within reach... What a pity, what a pity!"

"Heh. I've read Bian Que's Inner Canon." Wei Zhao hesitated, then said it anyway. For one thing, he had a good impression of Guan Xuemin; for another, the treatment plan for Yang Huaijun had been extrapolated from a case in Bian Que's Inner Canon, and if Guan Xuemin later asked about the pharmacology involved, he would have a hard time explaining it. Better to attribute it directly to Bian Que's Inner Canon.

"You, you've read Bian Que's Inner Canon?" Guan Xuemin had been hanging his head in dejection. Small wonder he lost his composure: his research in Chinese medicine had reached its peak, and to advance even one step further was exceedingly difficult. After all, there were no other reference texts to consult, and relying on his own pondering was no solution. Suddenly hearing Wei Zhao say he had read Bian Que's Inner Canon, he was struck dumb. "Not a forgery?"

Forged versions of Bian Que's Inner Canon had appeared before, though they were later proven not to be the genuine article. Guan Xuemin had read them too; the contents were decent enough, but to call them a medical masterwork on par with the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon was a stretch.

"I read some of it as a child, from an elder." Wei Zhao nodded. "Brother Jun's current condition resembles a case mentioned in Bian Que's Inner Canon. I merely extrapolated a few things from it when I wrote the prescription."

By saying this, Wei Zhao was also indirectly explaining that what he had seen was no forgery, and Guan Xuemin could naturally tell as much. He had read the forgeries himself; where in them was there anything about Yang Huaijun's injuries?

"Truly?" Guan Xuemin was somewhat agitated. "Might I take a look..."

Before Wei Zhao could answer, Guan Xuemin gave a rueful, embarrassed smile. "Forgive me, I've lost my composure. Since it belongs to your elder, it surely isn't shown to just anyone. I was presumptuous. Xiao Yi, don't take offense."

"Heh, it's nothing." Wei Zhao smiled. That elder was, of course, his own old man. Back then he had brought back a great pile of rare ancient texts from a Miao village in Yunnan. It was said that a traitor of the village, a fool called the "Right Elder," had collected them in order to practice some heretical art; in the end the Right Elder was finished off by his master, and the Right Elder's hoard was split between his master and his own old man.

"If there's a chance, I could take Grandpa Guan to see them." Wei Zhao was not a stingy man. Though Guan Xuemin had not cured Yang Huaijun, without him Yang Huaijun would have died long ago and would never have lasted this long. So Wei Zhao had always felt grateful to Guan Xuemin.

"Truly... that would be wonderful!" Guan Xuemin was instantly excited, but then he reflected that Wei Zhao might only be speaking out of politeness, and he could not be so tactless. He had heard that some reclusive families of Chinese herbal medicine and practitioners kept lost, unique medical texts, but he had only heard of it, never seen one. At this moment, hearing Wei Zhao's words, Guan Xuemin naturally assumed that Wei Zhao's elder belonged to some hidden family. How could he presume to look at another family's heirloom? So he hurriedly said, "If it's any trouble, then never mind. It's all right."

"It's no trouble." This was something Wei Zhao could decide on his own; with his master backing him, his old man would say nothing. "Next time I go home, I'll bring it back with me."

"Ah? How could that be right?" Guan Xuemin was startled. How could such a rare treasure be carried back and forth? What if it were lost? Even a photocopy could not be passed around carelessly! "If it's convenient, why don't I go with you to pay a visit?"

"Mm, that works too." Wei Zhao nodded.

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