CHAPTER 389: 360 HIT AND LOST CONFIDENCE.

The accomplished take precedence!

Lan Changhua calmly admitted his mistake and then spoke with Du Heng, adopting an attitude of not being ashamed to ask and learn from his junior. He wasn’t about to let his age or fame prevent him from swallowing his pride.

"Doctor Du, what formula, or what medicinal herbs, are you planning to use with your original formula?"

"First, use the Fire-Leading Soup. Three to five doses should be enough to achieve the goal of leading the fire back to its origin. Then, use my formula, adding schisandra, cordyceps, and kudzu. This combination can nourish Yin, restrain Yang, support right qi, and eliminate tumors."

Lan Changhua narrowed his eyes for a moment, his mind racing. He quickly recalled the origin of the Fire-Leading Soup and its functions. After just five seconds, his eyes lit up. He then began to mentally process Du Heng’s basic formula and the added medicinal herbs, deducing the characteristics of the modified formula Du Heng had described. It took him only thirty seconds to fully understand the method. But to grasp this in thirty seconds—if Du Heng hadn’t explained it, he might have needed three weeks, or even three months. This highlighted the importance of understanding pathology, comprehending the properties of medicinal herbs, and cultivating certain habits of thought.

Lan Changhua took a deep breath, his desire to have Du Heng stay grew even stronger.

At this moment, Cao Binghe was still racking his brain, trying to recall the classic verified prescriptions he had learned, but he couldn’t seem to find the Fire-Leading Soup among them. As for Du Heng, it went without saying; he had proposed this formula, so he certainly understood it thoroughly. But seeing Lan Changhua’s expression shift from confusion to understanding in just a few seconds, it was obvious that Professor Lan had grasped it too.

Cao Binghe felt a wave of helplessness at that moment. How could one old master and one young doctor have mastered so many uncommon formulas? Especially Du Heng—his rapid understanding and reaction concerning the cause and pathogenesis of diseases far surpassed many of his peers. Moreover, Du Heng somehow found time to read numerous medical texts, commit them to memory, and apply them logically. This was even harder for Cao Binghe to accept; it was utterly demoralizing. He had a teacher personally instructing him and dedicated time for studying, but when compared to Du Heng, the gap was just too vast.

Earlier that morning in the consultation room, he had still harbored some intention of challenging Du Heng. But after observing Du Heng with just two patients, that notion had been completely extinguished. Now, he felt utterly defeated. They could sit and discuss profound medical principles with his teacher, while he still couldn’t grasp what they were talking about. Cao Binghe couldn’t recall the origin of the Fire-Leading Soup, nor could he analyze the features of Du Heng’s formula. His mind began to go blank.

However, his teacher, Lan Changhua, was still having a heated discussion with Du Heng.

"Based on Doctor Du’s formula and considering the patient’s physical condition, one dose a day should be appropriate. Any more, and I’m afraid the patient wouldn’t be able to tolerate it."

This old man might not have gotten the formula right at first, but he hasn’t even seen the patient. Just by listening to me and Cao Binghe, he can estimate the likely dosage based on the formula’s characteristics. That’s experience for you.

Du Heng nodded in full agreement with Lan Changhua. "Besides the thyroid tumor, another critical issue for this patient is her bronchitis. Coupled with one round of chemotherapy, her body’s tolerance has been greatly diminished. If she were to take two doses a day, her system would likely collapse; it could easily lead to a severe breakdown. Furthermore, this patient is very obese. Even the one dose per day that Professor Lan suggested, I feel is a bit much. My plan is to administer seven doses over ten days. Once she has been on this regimen for a month, we can adjust to one dose per day. After three months, it can be increased to two doses per day."

Lan Changhua paused in thought for a moment. "This dosage plan is acceptable, and certainly more cautious."

Seeing that the two of them across the table had discussed the case almost to completion, Cao Binghe had accumulated a lot of questions. Now, hearing Du Heng’s dosage plan, another question arose in his mind. Seizing the brief pause after Lan Changhua finished speaking, he quickly asked, "Doctor Du, according to your proposed timeline, will this patient’s treatment take three to four months?"

Du Heng nodded. "That’s indeed the plan. I’ve tentatively scheduled her hospitalization for thirteen days: three days for the Fire-Leading Soup to guide the fire back to its origin, followed by ten days for the first course of treatment. Once her condition stabilizes and no other issues arise, she can be discharged to continue the second course of treatment at home."

Cao Binghe frowned deeply. "Doctor Du, take Zhu Minyan, for example. Her illness progressed rapidly, and the tumor was more severe than this current patient’s. Why was Zhu Minyan treatable in just two months, yet this patient, whose condition is comparatively milder, requires three to four months?"

Upon hearing Cao Binghe’s question, Lan Changhua was slightly disappointed. My student is very dependable. Whatever he studies, whatever research project I assign him, he completes it thoroughly and is a great help to me. But this student has a significant flaw: he’s too cautious, not flexible enough. Clearly, Du Heng has affected him today; he’s been demoralized and lost his confidence. Otherwise, he wouldn’t ask such a question. It’s something he could definitely figure out on his own with a little thought later. Alas, this student. In the future, he could become a very dedicated teacher, an excellent researcher, or even a cornerstone physician in a department. But he’ll find it very difficult to reach the pinnacle of his field.

Du Heng didn’t dwell on it. After Cao Binghe finished his question, he answered naturally, "Actually, the reason is quite simple. With Zhu Minyan, her illness progressed rapidly, but her vital functions hadn’t suffered significant damage, and she had no other concurrent diseases. Therefore, the medication I prescribed for her could be in larger doses and administered more frequently, as her body could tolerate it. This patient, however, is different. Her constitution is very poor, and she absolutely cannot tolerate high doses of medication. If the dosage is too high and her body experiences a healing crisis, she might not survive it."

This was an insight Du Heng had gained from treating Zhu Minyan. He was confident in his ability to verify whether the syndrome differentiation was clear and the medication correct. However, he truly had no certainty whether a severely ill patient would experience a healing crisis after taking his formula. If, after taking the medicine, this patient reacted like Zhu Minyan—given her current breathing, which was as labored as a saw—she’d likely drop dead on the spot at the first sign of a reaction.

Seeing Cao Binghe’s enlightened expression, Du Heng continued, "This patient has only undergone one round of chemotherapy, so her physical response isn’t very pronounced yet. If she had undergone two rounds, or if her body’s reaction was stronger, I wouldn’t dare to treat her. You’ve seen the formula I prescribed; more than half of it contains highly toxic substances. And for it to be effective, I have to use increased dosages. Therefore, if someone in a severely weakened state were to drink it, a single bowl could be fatal."

Seeing that it was getting late in the afternoon, Lan Changhua concluded the day’s discussion. "Doctor Du, it seems you’ll be quite busy during this period. Please also take some time to teach Xiao Cao a thing or two and help this young man improve."

Du Heng replied humbly, "Professor Lan, you’re too kind. It should be I who learns from Doctor Cao."

After exchanging a few more polite remarks, Du Heng and Cao Binghe left the hospital room and headed towards their office.

Just then, Chu Xuwei appeared again and very formally introduced Du Heng to everyone. There were some murmurs of surprise at Du Heng’s arrival, especially since he was to cover Professor Lan’s outpatient service during his injury. However, most showed no other reaction. In fact, a few individuals—presumably Deputy Directors at the hospital—seemed to look down on Du Heng.

Of course, being a young Deputy Chief Physician from a remote northwestern mountainous region hardly qualified him for their respect in their eyes. But then again, did Du Heng need their respect? If they respected him, would they share a portion of their income with him? Everyone eats from their own bowl, lives their own life. A hospital might seem like a single workplace, but it actually emphasizes individual capabilities even more. To put it bluntly, someone truly skilled, standing alone, is like a dominant tiger in the mountains, able to feast to their heart’s content. Those with lesser skills, even if they band together, are just like a herd of pigs occupying more space—useless except for eating.

Du Heng paid no mind to their gazes. He accompanied Cao Binghe to check on his patients and, incidentally, to look for the woman who was supposed to be hospitalized. However, after searching around, Cao Binghe couldn’t find her. An inquiry at the nurse station confirmed that the patient had indeed completed the admission procedures. However, she and her companion had said they needed to go home to get something and hadn’t returned since.

Cao Binghe didn’t bother calling them. His attitude was clear: If you stay, we’ll treat you. If you don’t want to stay or refuse to cooperate, then suit yourselves. It’s your own body; if you’re not concerned, why should I be? Besides, I’m incredibly busy every day. I don’t have time to chase after people like that.

"Doctor Du, the patient went to get something and still hasn’t returned. Perhaps you could take a look at my other patients and see if there are any aspects of their treatment that could be improved?"

Unsure if Cao Binghe’s invitation was sincere, Du Heng promptly shook his head and declined with a smile. "Doctor Cao, I just looked at your patients; they are all recovering very well. There’s no need for me to interfere." After a brief pause, he added, "It’s probably for the best that the patient hasn’t shown up. I can go back and get some rest. I didn’t feel it this morning, but I’m incredibly tired now."

Cao Binghe couldn’t tell if Du Heng was genuinely tired, and he didn’t want to press him to stay. So, he went along with Du Heng’s words, "Alright then. I can drive you back later. And after work this afternoon, I’d like to treat you to dinner."

Du Heng quickly waved his hand. "That’s far too much trouble. Thank you for your kind offer, Doctor Cao, but I already have plans for this evening."

Cao Binghe didn’t believe him. I know Du Heng’s background perfectly well. He’s been in Jinzhou his entire life, and this is his first time in the Capital. Who on earth could he have plans with?

But since Du Heng was unwilling, there was nothing Cao Binghe could do. "Alright then, I’ll treat you to a meal another day. Come on, I’ll give you a ride back."

Du Heng quickly refused again; having Cao Binghe drive him back felt too imposing. "No need, Doctor Cao, I can get back on my own. I’d also like to stroll around the Qingbei University campus, soak in the atmosphere of the top university, and perhaps edify my ’underachieving’ self."

After a few more exchanges of refusal and insistence, Cao Binghe saw that Du Heng was genuinely unwilling to be driven, so he relented. Although he was Professor Lan’s assistant and had relatively few inpatients, he still had some to manage and other tasks to attend to; he was quite busy. Du Heng’s refusal actually made things easier for him.

However, even though Cao Binghe wasn’t going to escort him, someone else offered.

Just as Du Heng stepped out of the Department, a somewhat familiar female voice called out from behind him, "Doctor Du, let me walk you back. It’s your first time here, and the school dormitories can be quite confusing; you might get lost."

Du Heng turned. It was Gan Yanfang, the female doctor who had been rather confrontational that morning.