Live Broadcast: My Blunt TCM Practice and My Patients Are Dying Online - Chapter 71

Just as Liu Yan was about to further discuss dental health with Qin Jiang, a couple entered the clinic with their elderly parent and child.

Qin Jiang took one look and knew this was a significant case.

An entire family of five had come for a consultation.

“Doctor, could you please examine us? We’ve all been feeling very unwell these past few days, but we can’t pinpoint what’s wrong,” said the woman speaking. Her face was pale, clearly indicating poor health.

The others with her looked similarly afflicted—some had sallow complexions, others were hunched over and struggled to walk.

Qin Jiang’s initial impression was that this entire family was genuinely ill.

Using his observational skills, he noted the woman seemed the most severely affected and asked her to sit down first.

“Your name?”

“Lü Fang.”

“What are your specific symptoms?”

“My stomach always feels bloated recently. Even though I haven’t eaten, it’s swollen like a balloon and just won’t go down.”

Qin Jiang glanced at Lü Fang’s abdomen; it was indeed as she described.

Lü Fang actually had delicate, quite pretty features. But now she looked haggard, unnaturally pale, with lips tinged slightly purple.

Yet Qin Jiang didn’t jump to conclusions.

Traditional Chinese medicine discourages rash judgments. Even if you notice something, you must ask the patient, listen to them describe their own symptoms and feelings, before determining the root cause.

“Aside from the bloating, are there any other issues?”

“Sometimes I feel nauseous, even to the point where I can’t eat.”

At this, Lü Fang lowered her voice and asked, “Doctor, do you think I might be pregnant?”

Qin Jiang glanced at her. “You’ve had a child before, right? Can’t you tell if you’re pregnant?”

Lü Fang looked somewhat embarrassed. “It feels similar to when I was pregnant before—can’t eat and prone to vomiting. And with this stomach… I really can’t be sure. Could you check my pulse?”

As Lü Fang placed her wrist on the pulse pillow, Qin Jiang asked casually, “So, are you hoping you’re pregnant or not?”

After a moment’s thought, Lü Fang replied, “I’d rather not be. Work pressure is too high right now; one child is already enough to handle. Another would be too much for our family to bear.”

“Then congratulations, your wish is granted. You’re not pregnant.”

Hearing this, Lü Fang let out a sigh of relief. “Then what exactly is wrong with me?”

Instead of answering directly, Qin Jiang asked, “You look like you haven’t been sleeping well recently?”

Lü Fang nodded repeatedly. “Doctor, you’re very perceptive. Actually, I’ve been experiencing something truly terrifying lately—it’s been scaring me so much I can’t sleep at all.”

Qin Jiang reassured her, “It’s alright, tell me about it.”

Lü Fang looked surprised. “Doctor, do you understand metaphysics?”

Qin Jiang smiled slightly. “There’s no such thing as metaphysics in this world. The end of metaphysics is science.”

But Lü Fang shook her head, insisting firmly, “Metaphysics is real. It really is!”

She nervously glanced around, then pulled a palm-sized statue of Maitreya Buddha from her pocket, placed it on the table, and pressed her hands together in a prayerful bow.

After doing this, she finally spoke: “Doctor, I feel like I’ve been haunted by a ghost recently.”

Qin Jiang’s eyebrows rose with interest.

When he had taken her pulse earlier, he detected issues with her liver and gallbladder.

As the saying goes, the liver and gallbladder are interconnected—they reflect each other’s condition. They thrive and suffer together.

Someone with excessive liver fire tends to have a quick temper, waking up ready to argue, as their stagnant liver qi seeks release through venting.

Someone with liver yin deficiency tends to be timid, hesitant in actions and decisions, potentially terrified by just a horror movie.

Lü Fang’s liver was already severely impaired, so her gallbladder was undoubtedly affected as well.

Timidity makes one prone to “seeing ghosts.”

Qin Jiang inquired, “Can you tell me specifically what kind of ghost you’ve encountered?”

Lü Fang stared at Qin Jiang, her voice fearful. “Lately, I keep hearing a knife-sharpening sound at home. And when I get up to use the bathroom at night, I’ve seen a figure—more than once—standing in the kitchen! Doctor, I think a ghost is targeting me. Everyone says I’m mentally ill, but I’m not, I really am not!”

She grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, and Qin Jiang quickly tried to calm her.

Viewers in the live stream also shared their opinions:

“As soon as that woman walked in, I noticed her unsteady gait. Definitely something wrong, but I didn’t expect it to be a ghost encounter.”

“Don’t spout nonsense. There are no ghosts in this world.”

“How can you say that? I saw one when I was a kid. I passed by an unmarked graveyard late at night—scared the hell out of me.”

“Man, you’re hardcore, going to a graveyard late at night.”

The netizens were also intrigued by the ghost topic, pricking up their ears to hear what kind of ghost Lü Fang had encountered.

Qin Jiang first soothed Lü Fang’s emotions, looking at her sincerely. “Ms. Lü, please calm down. As a doctor, I believe you. You are not mentally ill. But to understand what’s really happening, you need to give me more details. Besides the grinding sounds and the shadowy figure, have you experienced anything else unusual?”

After a long silence, Lü Fang said to Qin Jiang, “I think the ghost wants to behead me.”

Qin Jiang frowned, realizing Lü Fang’s mental state did seem abnormal.

Normal logical thinking follows a question-and-answer pattern. When asked a question, one typically tries to answer it directly. Similarly, after asking a question, one expects an answer.

But now, Lü Fang was ignoring his question and slipping back into her own narrative.

Qin Jiang knew he couldn’t let her continue unchecked; she might talk until dawn without providing useful information.

So he guided her back: “Ms. Lü, you said the ghost wants to behead you. What makes you think that?”

Lü Fang grew tense again. “The ghost told me in my dream. It said it would chop my head off. And it also said my hair was too long, it would get in the way of the blade, so it needed to shave my head. And actually, the ghost has managed to do it. Every morning when I wake up, there are large clumps of hair on my pillow. Here, look, Doctor, if you don’t believe me.”

Lü Fang removed her furry hat.

Only then did Qin Jiang realize she had been wearing a wig.

Without it, she was completely bald.