Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 183: Liver Toxin

"Good."

Li Gui felt a stir of anticipation.

After all, he had heard plenty of recommendations and praise from Ding Aiguo.

Otherwise, a man of his stature wouldn't have personally cooked for a young man, even at Ding Aiguo's request.

In fact, a major reason Ding Aiguo had invited Li Xu for this meal was so he could examine Li Gui.

The housekeeper handed over a soft cushion.

She placed it on the huanghuali coffee table.

Li Gui placed his wrist flat on it.

The skin exposed by his cuff had an unhealthy, ashen-gray pallor, and several horizontal grooves were faintly visible at the base of his nails.

Li Xu's three fingers rested on his pulse.

He immediately detected a taut and rapid pulse, like a vibrating zither string. However, the deepest pulse point felt faint and weak. Beneath his fingers, it was as if fine grains of sand were grinding against the artery walls.

"Elder Li, have you been experiencing a distending pain in your sides at night lately?"

Li Xu applied slightly more pressure with his fingertips and noticed the corner of Li Gui's eyebrow twitch.

The yellowish-brown patches on the white of the elder's left eye were especially noticeable in the daylight. In Chinese medicine, this was a classic sign of "liver spots."

Hearing this, Li Gui nodded. "That's right. For the past half-month, I've been waking up with a start around three or four in the morning, and my mouth is so bitter it's like I've been chewing on Huang Lian."

He subconsciously rubbed his right side with his palm.

The housekeeper, standing by ready to serve, suddenly interjected, "Elder Li has even been avoiding his favorite drunken crab these past few days."

Li Xu looked up and studied Li Gui's face carefully.

He noticed a very distinct web of spider-like capillaries at the bridge of his nose.

Those were the "liver stagnation lines" recorded in *Observation and Diagnosis Following the Classics*.

Suddenly, his hand trembled.

The elder's pulse suddenly took on a sparrow-pecking quality, pausing intermittently and irregularly.

The sparrow-pecking pulse—that was one of the Seven Strange Veins.

The appearance of this pulse meant the body's condition was extremely serious.

Li Xu continued to take the pulse.

Thankfully,

the sparrow-pecking pulse was only appearing intermittently.

However, if his condition wasn't stabilized soon, Li Gui's health would take a sharp turn for the worse.

At the same time, Li Xu also caught a faint, sour, decaying smell mixed in with the elder's breath—like leaves rotting in the rainy season.

"The liver toxins have become deeply entangled." Li Xu withdrew his fingers and explained, "Excessive internal heat has generated toxins that have damaged your body's vital fluids and scorched the liver's channels. If not treated in time..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

Li Gui's eyes lit up, and he laughed. "Haha, Doctor Li, you really are amazing. With just a brief examination, your diagnosis is nearly identical to what some famous doctors have told me."

Li Xu asked, "What were the results when you went to the hospital for a check-up?"

'A man of Li Gui's status must have been to a major hospital for tests.'

Li Gui sighed and said, "Every year at my physical, the report says 'abnormal liver function.' Western medicine calls it a fatty liver with toxin accumulation. They prescribed some liver-protective drugs. They work while I take them, but the problem returns as soon as I stop."

He shook his head. "Later, I thought that since tea can detoxify the body, I started drinking a lot of green tea and white tea. I even had someone find me some aged Pu'er. The effects... were so-so."

Ding Kaifang interjected, "Uncle Li, tea does indeed have the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, but the effects of different teas vary greatly."

Li Xu nodded and continued the topic, "That's right. While ordinary tea can clear heat and promote urination, its detoxifying power is ultimately limited. What can truly penetrate the liver meridian and dissolve deep-seated toxins is Zither Fish Tea."

"Zither Fish Tea? Doctor Li, you even know about Zither Fish Tea..." Li Gui raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise in his eyes, but then he shook his head with a wry smile. "That stuff... Where could you possibly find real Zither Fish Tea these days?"

Li Xu didn't rush to answer. He knew what Li Gui was going to say next.

As a tea lover, Li Gui naturally knew of Zither Fish Tea, one of the four great legendary teas.

Sure enough, Li Gui sighed. "The Qin Fish originally came from the Qinxi in Wannan. In ancient times, it was a tribute item, capable of neutralizing a hundred poisons, clearing the liver, and improving eyesight. Unfortunately, due to overfishing and water pollution decades ago, the wild ones are nearly extinct. What's sold on the market now are all farmed. They're raised in ordinary fish ponds, far from the water and soil of the Qinxi. Their effects are greatly diminished."

Li Xu smiled faintly and took a small celadon jar from his bag, placing it on the coffee table.

"Elder Li, please take a look at this." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Li Gui froze, his gaze falling on the porcelain jar. He reached out hesitantly and took it.

He lifted the lid, and a clear, cool fragrance instantly wafted out. It wasn't the mellow aroma of ordinary tea, but rather carried the crisp scent of a mountain stream.

Inside the jar, some twenty-odd small, dried fish lay quietly. Their bodies were a translucent golden yellow, shaped like willow leaves. Their eyes were still as bright as pearls, as if they had just been scooped from a stream.

"This... This is..." Li Gui was both shocked and delighted. He gently nudged one of the dried fish with his finger to confirm it wasn't a hallucination.

"Authentic wild Qin Fish that lived in the waters of the Qinxi." Li Xu's tone was calm, but each word landed like a hammer blow. "True Qin Fish only live in that specific stretch of flowing water in the Qinxi. Once they leave that area, their flavor changes. After these fish are caught, they are quick-boiled in salted water with seasonings like fennel, tea leaves, and sugar, then dried over a charcoal fire to become the finished dried Qin Fish."

Li Gui's breathing clearly quickened. He carefully cradled the porcelain jar in his palms as if it were a priceless treasure.

"The effects of Zither Fish Tea are clearly recorded in ancient medical texts," Li Xu continued. "*Supplement to the Materia Medica* states it 'neutralizes a hundred poisons, clears the liver, and improves eyesight.' And *Food Therapy Herbs* records that 'long-term consumption lightens the body and extends life.'"

"People today only know it's rare, but they don't know its true value," Li Gui murmured, his eyes filled with unconcealable excitement. "Qin Fish are born in swift currents and feed on the algae and plankton in the stream, accumulating immense detoxifying power within their bodies. Chinese medicine speaks of 'like attracting like.' The liver governs free-flowing circulation, and the Qin Fish live in flowing water, which perfectly aligns with the liver's nature. That's why its effect on detoxifying the liver far surpasses that of ordinary medicine."

Li Xu nodded. "Exactly. Moreover, Zither Fish Tea is different from ordinary tea. It not only clears liver toxins but also repairs the liver's channels. From your pulse just now, it's clear the liver stagnation has been generating toxins for a long time. Ordinary medicine can only suppress it temporarily, but Zither Fish Tea can penetrate deep into the liver meridian and draw out the accumulated toxins bit by bit."

Ding Aiguo chimed in at the perfect moment, "Doctor Li, I never expected you to have something this good. You've been hiding it well! My old friend Li, you've really hit the jackpot this time."

Ding Kaifang's eyes were shining too.

This was one of the four great legendary teas.

'Today was worth it!'

'I get to taste a delicacy and drink a legendary tea.'

Li Gui took a deep breath, slowly closed the lid of the porcelain jar, and looked up at Li Xu, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Doctor Li... this stuff... you can't buy the real thing anymore, even with money. Where did you get it?"

Li Xu smiled but didn't answer directly. He simply said, "I came across some by a stroke of luck. I brought it today as a gift for you. You can drink this first to start clearing out the liver toxins. In a few days, I'll examine you again and prescribe a few courses of Chinese medicine to truly cure your illness."

Li Gui burst out laughing, saying happily, "Good! Excellent! This old man will remember this favor!"

He looked at the expectant faces of the father and son, Ding Aiguo and Ding Kaifang, and chuckled. "Don't worry, this old man won't be stingy. I'll let you have a taste right now."

He had the housekeeper bring four crystal glasses.

First, he poured a jade-green tea infusion, then dropped one of the dried "Qin Fish" into each of the four glasses.

In an instant, a strange, ethereal fragrance filled the room.

Ding Aiguo and Ding Kaifang leaned in curiously for a closer look.

They saw a wisp of green mist rise from the glasses. When the mist dissipated, the four Qin Fish in the clear tea were all floating perfectly upright, heads up and tails down. Their mouths were slightly open, their eyes wide, their dorsal fins spread, and their tail fins swaying gently.

As the tea swirled, they looked like sprites swimming in the cups. For a moment, it seemed as if one could almost hear the faint sound of the fish sipping water—a true marvel of the tea ceremony.

Li Gui was also growing impatient.

"Come, let's taste it together."

Everyone raised their glasses and took a small sip. The infusion lingered on the tips of their tongues, and a clean, mellow fragrance instantly blossomed in their mouths, without the slightest hint of fishiness.

Drinking it this way had a unique elegance, far surpassing any ordinary tea ceremony.

After finishing the tea, they slowly chewed the rehydrated dried fish. It was savory and fresh, imbued with the fragrance of tea—a novel and full-bodied flavor.

"Absolutely marvelous! I've never even heard of a Zither Fish Tea like this!"

Li Gui and his two guests drank, their praise unending.

This was Li Xu's second time drinking it, and he too felt it wasn't nearly enough.