I Can Talk to the Internal Organs-Chapter 50 - 45: Fatty Liver

"Does this damn fatty ever stop? Eating so much, aren’t you afraid of bursting?" Liver Wood roared.

"Liver Wood, you’re such a kind person, always standing up for me. Alas, I’m feeling more powerless now. If he keeps eating recklessly like this, who knows what might happen one day. Last night’s hotpot already made me feel terrible." Spleen Earth said.

"I’m not standing up for you. This damn fatty ate so much that I’ve got a lot of stuff growing here. It’s clogging me up and making me feel awful." Liver Wood said.

"Alright, Heart Fire, can you help him?" Spleen Earth said.

"I can’t help." Heart Fire said.

"Why not?" Spleen Earth asked.

"The fatty brought it on himself. Liver Wood reminded him more than once, and even pain couldn’t stop him. I also tried, to no avail." Heart Fire said.

"But... are we just going to leave it like this?" Spleen Earth said weakly.

"What can we do? Apart from accepting it, we can only go down with him. Worst comes to worst, we all perish together." Heart Fire said with a calm demeanor.

"Come on, don’t always talk about dying. I want to live, don’t scare me, okay?" Hydronephrosis jumped in.

Hearing the conversation among the Five Viscera, Lu Jiu’s smile immediately faded, and he furrowed his brows.

Something in the liver?

This isn’t good news.

"What’s with that expression? I’m warning you, don’t try to act with me. I was wrong, okay? I don’t want to end up as your son." Tian Xuelin said as he noticed Lu Jiu’s smile disappear, feeling a sudden pang of unease.

He didn’t understand traditional Chinese medicine, but he remembered something he came across while surfing online: Don’t be afraid of a happy Western doctor, be afraid when a TCM doctor’s brows furrow.

There were also videos online of people seeing old TCM doctors. When you see their expressions drop and brows tighten, you can’t help but feel anxious.

Tian Xuelin felt the same way at first, but then he remembered they were the same age, and the fear diminished by 80%, so he instinctively thought Lu Jiu was just acting.

After all, they often joked with each other.

"Have you been constipated lately?" Lu Jiu asked.

"You’re trying to trick me, huh?" Tian Xuelin said with a smile.

"Come on, have you or haven’t you been constipated?" Lu Jiu asked.

"I guess so, but not yesterday, so you’re wrong." Tian Xuelin said.

"Do you feel any dull ache in the right upper abdomen?" Lu Jiu asked.

Tian Xuelin, who was just laughing, suddenly froze.

Seeing his expression, Lu Jiu already knew the answer.

"You’ve been feeling depressed from overtime lately, right? And staying up late often, even feeling irritated and anxious before bed sometimes." Lu Jiu said.

Gulp~

Tian Xuelin swallowed.

He stared at Lu Jiu in shock, not knowing what to say.

Although Lu Jiu wasn’t talking about what happened yesterday, everything he mentioned matched perfectly. It was unbelievable.

Can you imagine what it’s like when a friend you’ve known for over a decade suddenly becomes incredibly impressive?

At this moment, Tian Xuelin was at a loss for words.

"Just tell me straight, do I have a problem?" Tian Xuelin became serious.

"Turn a bit." Lu Jiu said.

Tian Xuelin, not understanding, began to turn his body around and pulled his legs out from under the table.

Lu Jiu then pressed his hand on the middle area between Tian Xuelin’s knee and thigh.

"Ow~! Damn, why are you pressing so hard?" Tian Xuelin winced in pain, almost jumping out of his seat.

"I wasn’t pressing hard." Lu Jiu said.

"Nonsense, if you weren’t, why did it hurt so much?" Tian Xuelin frowned, still feeling the lingering pain.

"Don’t believe me? Try it yourself." Lu Jiu said.

Seeing this, Tian Xuelin tried pressing the same area Lu Jiu had pressed. To his shock, with just a light touch and slight pressure, a wave of sharp pain hit him again.

How could this be?

Tian Xuelin squinted one eye in pain. "Why is this happening?"

"Based on all your symptoms, the pain area of the liver meridian, and your current complexion and appetite, it should be mild fatty liver." Lu Jiu said.

The reason Lu Jiu asked so many questions was because, in traditional Chinese medicine, diagnosis relies on identifying patterns from various symptoms. It’s easy to misdiagnose based on a single symptom.

It’s like in crime dramas where police at a murder scene can’t just conclude who the killer is based on fingerprints on the weapon. They need enough clues to unravel the truth and find the real culprit.

You could say every good TCM doctor must have detective skills.

Fatty liver?

Tian Xuelin wasn’t surprised to hear those words.

For someone his weight, it would be strange not to have fatty liver.

However, he didn’t expect to get it so quickly.

During the physical in the previous year, everything was fine. In just over six months, he developed fatty liver. The speed was alarming.

"There’s no need to worry. Fatty liver isn’t a serious disease. As long as it doesn’t progress to cirrhosis, ascites, or, worse, liver cancer, it’s not complicated to treat. The first signal of progression is a loss of appetite." Seeing Tian Xuelin silent, Lu Jiu quickly explained.

"Is it because I have too many social engagements?" Tian Xuelin asked.

"Social engagements are part of it. Work-related stress and daily routines all contribute significantly. But more than your liver, I’m worried about your heart." Lu Jiu said.

"Why? Could there be an issue with my heart too?" Tian Xuelin looked at Lu Jiu in surprise.

"Our weight is a concern for the heart. Your excessive weight is like a load on the heart—it can manage short term, but not indefinitely."

"I suggest reducing your weight before any cardiovascular or pericardial changes occur. Otherwise, once changes happen, losing weight will inevitably lead to excessive sweating in the process. Sweat is the heart’s liquid, and losing too much will be harmful. At that point, losing weight will hurt your body, and not losing weight will also hurt your body. Understand?" Lu Jiu said.

"So being fat is a no-no, right?" Tian Xuelin said.

"Being excessively thin isn’t good either. Chinese medicine emphasizes balance. Plus, you’re only in your twenties. You can’t sacrifice your lifetime health for a deputy director position." Lu Jiu said.

"Alright, I’ll listen to you. But can you treat the fatty liver?" Tian Xuelin asked.

"Whether or not it can be treated depends on your cooperation." Lu Jiu said.

"I’ll definitely cooperate," Tian Xuelin laughed.

"In that case, come to my clinic tomorrow morning, son." Lu Jiu said, smiling as he looked at Tian Xuelin.

"Hold on," Tian Xuelin protested. "You were talking about my recent condition, not what I did yesterday, so it doesn’t count."

"Trying to wiggle out of it?" Lu Jiu said.

"Not trying to wiggle out. You mentioned yesterday, wasn’t me. How about this, I’ll meet you halfway and just call you once, and we can bet again another day." Tian Xuelin laughed.

Seeing Tian Xuelin nitpicking, Lu Jiu couldn’t help but find it funny.

Not seeing the coffin, not shedding tears.

"No need to," Lu Jiu calmly took a sip of water. "Just answer this, did you have hotpot last night?"

Just joking around, Tian Xuelin’s face instantly turned stiff.

Seeing this, Lu Jiu deliberately said, "Wrong answer? Then tell me what you did at home."

Tian Xuelin quickly grabbed Lu Jiu’s arm, "Bro, I get it, spare me some face."

Lu Jiu gave a sidelong look, "Mixing up the order, aren’t you?"

Tian Xuelin gritted his teeth, "...dad."

Lu Jiu smiled satisfactorily, "Now, compared to a chief physician at a top-tier hospital, who’s more impressive?"