Behind him was Du Jun, head lowered, holding a basin full of burnt paper money in one hand and a large rooster in the other.

Seeing this, Du Heng and Du Ping no longer sat in the main hall but hurried out to watch Banxianer continue performing the rites in the courtyard.

This ritualistic activity lasted for another half an hour.

When Banxianer had finished everything, Du Heng asked Du Jun, "How is your Wife now? Can I go in and have a look?"

Du Jun felt awkward. But Du Heng was now a person of considerable ability, and Du Jun no longer dared to act as defiantly in front of him as before.

Du Jun led Du Heng into his bedroom. Inside, Du Heng saw Du Jun’s Wife, her mouth tightly gagged and her hands bound behind her back, sitting on the bed like a roly-poly doll.

Du Heng had heard about the situation from Du Ping, so he wasn’t surprised to see her bound this way.

He simply stepped forward and carefully observed Du Jun’s Wife, noticing she only had mild perspiration, not the profuse sweating Du Ping had described.

He then turned to Du Jun and asked, "Does your Sister-in-law sweat a lot?"

"She sweats a lot, especially when she drinks water." Du Jun’s eyes showed fear. "Banxianer said it’s due to the resentment of the Great Immortal Huang and advised me to give her less water. Otherwise, the water she drinks will be forced out of her body by the Great Immortal Huang, taking her yang qi with it, which could be fatal."

Du Heng scoffed inwardly at this explanation, but he couldn’t deny that the outcome, at least, was positive.

However, judging by Du Jun’s expression, it was clear he had bought Banxianer’s nonsense and, like his mother, was utterly convinced.

So Du Heng said no more. He took another step forward and began to take her pulse from her bound hands.

Although taking her pulse this way wasn’t ideal for accuracy, Du Heng’s skill was high enough for him to glean some insights.

He then reached out to touch her swollen ankles.

Releasing her ankles, Du Heng stood there, pondering for a moment. Then, suddenly, just like Banxianer, he began to frown, his thumb tapping back and forth across his other four fingers.

This gesture left Du Jun and Du Ping completely bewildered, with no idea what Du Heng was doing.

After a while, Du Heng turned to Du Jun and asked, "How much money did Banxianer ask for?"

Du Jun peeked cautiously towards the main hall through the door curtain. Although he couldn’t see clearly, he remained wary. After looking, he whispered, "Banxianer asked for four thousand yuan, and we bargained it down to 3,000 yuan."

Damn, 3,000 yuan! What a heartless man.

Du Heng pursed his lips and whispered, "Your Sister-in-law is possessed."

"You can tell that too?" Du Jun’s eyes widened, the panic in them intensifying. "Aren’t you a doctor?"

"Since ancient times, sorcery and medicine have been intertwined," Du Heng smiled mysteriously. "Which practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine doesn’t know a bit of witchcraft? It’s just that Society now discourages talk of feudal superstition, so we don’t speak of it. But that doesn’t mean we’re ignorant. Trust me. If you believe me, I can make your Sister-in-law lucid with just one dose of medicine."

Looking at Du Heng’s confident assertion, Du Jun hesitated. "She... still needs to take medicine?"

Du Heng saw that Du Jun wouldn’t be convinced unless he demonstrated some genuine skill.

"Let me put it this way: your Sister-in-law is indeed possessed, and it’s true that evil qi is wreaking havoc within her body. But Banxianer’s method is wrong. His techniques are for exorcising ghosts and demons, not for clearing out evil qi."

Seeing Du Jun still hesitating, Du Heng continued, "Your Sister-in-law was in the mountains for two days and two nights. She was exhausted, without food or water, leaving her extremely weak. Consequently, her five visceral Gods, especially the Spleen God and Stomach God, also became weak and powerless. At that point, the evil qi of mountains and wilds seized the opportunity to invade, occupying the Temples of her Spleen God and Stomach God, which is what made her act so erratically. And the evil qi of mountains and wilds is Yin in nature. Each time it forces out sweat, it carries away some of your Sister-in-law’s yang qi. As a result, the yin qi inside her body intensifies, and the evil qi grows stronger."

"Then what does this have to do with taking medicine?" Du Jun asked, puzzled. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Are you dense?" Du Heng shot Du Jun a contemptuous look. "Evil qi has occupied the Temples of your Sister-in-law’s five viscera. Do you think merely chanting scriptures and ringing bells from the outside will make the evil qi just roll out? It’s like a mouse getting into the house. If you stand outside banging a basin and shouting at the top of your lungs, do you think it will come out?"

"No," Du Jun shook his head. "The mouse will burrow into its hole and hide very deep."

"So you see, Banxianer’s method is useless," Du Heng continued to lead him. "To get a mouse out of the house, to kill it, what would you do?"

"I’d set out bait, or find the mouse hole and pour water into it. If that still doesn’t work, I’d get a cat."

"Exactly!" Du Heng clapped his hands lightly. "The medicine is that bait. It’s the water poured into the hole. It’s the patrolling cat.

"Plants possess essence. Through specific combinations, I can transform this essence into pure yang qi. When it circulates within your Sister-in-law’s body, it will expel this fledgling evil qi. Then, the Spleen God and Stomach God can return to their proper Temples, and your Sister-in-law will recover.

"Then, we burn the yellow paper to send the evil qi away, and everything will be settled."

A disdainful look crossed Du Heng’s face. "Banxianer’s current methods are like banging gongs and beating drums. Do you really expect that to scare the evil qi away?"