Li Xu continued to read the notes.

Elder Cheng repeatedly emphasized in his notes that the human body is a complex, organic whole.

The emergence of illness was simply due to an imbalance of yin and yang and the disarray of qi and blood.

The essence of acupuncture treatment was not to "jab" the needle into the lesion, but to stimulate acupoints to mobilize the body’s own righteous qi and "correct" this imbalance.

Therefore, before administering the needles, one must first use the four diagnostic methods—observation, listening and smelling, inquiry, and palpation—to distinguish the yin-yang, exterior-interior, deficiency-excess, and cold-heat nature of the illness. This is what’s commonly known in Chinese medicine as the "Eight-Principle Pattern Differentiation."

In short, it all came down to two concepts: "deficiency" and "excess."

Conditions are either deficient or excessive, and treatments are either supplementary or expository.

Supplement the deficient; expose the excess.

These four seemingly simple words were the core and soul of all acupuncture therapy.

And based on these two completely different treatment principles of "supplementation" and "exposure," Elder Cheng’s journal went on to introduce two sets of acupuncture techniques in detail: "Mountain-Burning Fire" and "Penetratingly Cool."

"Mountain-Burning Fire," as its name implied, was fiery in nature. It was the great Supplement Method in acupuncture.

The notes recorded that this technique specialized in treating all kinds of deficiency-cold syndromes.

When administering this technique, the needle had to be slowly inserted through the three depths of Heaven, Man, and Earth. At each depth, one had to press tightly and lift slowly nine times, creating a strong sensation of warmth under the needle, as if a ball of fire were burning deep within the acupoint. This would stimulate the Yang Qi and expel cold evils.

The technique was complex, emphasizing the coordination of breath and hand movements. It required "the qi to reach the ailment, like a wildfire sweeping the plains."

As for "Penetratingly Cool," it was icy in nature—the great Exposure Method in acupuncture.

This technique specialized in treating all kinds of excess-heat syndromes.

When administering this technique, the needle had to be inserted rapidly, again through the three depths of Heaven, Man, and Earth. But at each depth, one had to lift tightly and press slowly six times, creating a distinct cool sensation under the needle that spread outward, as if a stream of cold air were being injected into the body. This would clear heat, purge fire, and dredge blockages.

This technique placed more emphasis on "intent," requiring that "where the intent goes, the qi follows, leaving one Cold to the Bone."

Li Xu was completely mesmerized, his mind utterly captivated by the exquisitely profound theories and techniques within the journal.

It was as if he could see through the lines of forceful handwriting to the figure of Elder Cheng from all those years ago, writing furiously under a lamp, meticulously refining his work.

Time slipped by unnoticed.

Li Xu ate dinner and continued to study.

Several more hours passed.

When the hour and minute hands of the wall clock both aligned on the number "12,"

[Today’s Intel Has Been Refreshed]

[Today’s Intel: Detailed Video Explanation of Mountain-Burning Fire and Penetratingly Cool Acupuncture Techniques.mp4]

A video file icon appeared clearly in his mind.

Li Xu’s heart leaped with joy!

’Talk about perfect timing!’

’Some of the written descriptions in the journal were a bit obscure and took a lot of mental energy to decipher.’

’The intel system is so considerate, sending a detailed video explanation directly!’

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately clicked open the video file in his mind.

Instantly, a clear, hologram-like image unfolded before his eyes.

In the image, the phantom of an old man was sitting in front of a treatment bed.

Before him was a translucent model of the human meridians.

"The Mountain-Burning Fire is a Supplement Method of Pure Yang..."

The phantom spoke, his voice gentle.

He began to demonstrate as he explained.

Li Xu watched with incredible clarity.

He could clearly see how the phantom held the needle, how he adjusted his breathing, and how he divided the acupoint into the three depths of Heaven, Man, and Earth upon insertion.

He could see how the phantom’s fingers performed the "press tightly and lift slowly" maneuver—the angle of rotation, the frequency of lifting and thrusting, were all precise to the extreme.

Following the phantom’s movements, a red, flame-like stream of qi actually rose from the needled acupoint on the translucent human model!

The stream of qi spread rapidly outward along the meridians, dyeing them a warm red wherever it passed.

Of course, the qi stream was just a simulation.

In a real-life procedure, it would all be invisible.

Next, the phantom began to explain "Penetratingly Cool."

"The Penetratingly Cool is an Exposure Method of Ultimate Yin..."

This time, his technique was completely different.

The needle insertion was swift, and the movements of lifting and thrusting were filled with a cold, sharp intent.

And as he worked, a blue, ice-like stream of qi emerged from the acupoint on the model, also spreading along the meridians and coating them in a frosty blue wherever it passed.

The video not only demonstrated the techniques but also interspersed key points for differentiating various syndromes.

When to use "Mountain-Burning Fire," and what type of patient constitution was unsuitable for it;

what symptoms were suitable for "Penetratingly Cool," and what contraindications to be aware of when administering the needles... All the details were explained with absolute clarity.

This wasn’t just simple "teaching" anymore; this was a hands-on, unreserved "inheritance" of knowledge!

Li Xu was incredibly excited.

The value of this single video was even greater than that of the journal itself!

With this, the time it would take him to master these two supreme skills would be drastically reduced!

He watched greedily, wishing he could carve every single detail into his very bones.

He glanced at the time absentmindedly.

It was already past three in the morning.

Although he wasn’t sleepy yet, he absolutely had to rest.

Otherwise, he’d be exhausted for the entire next day.

He forced himself to close the video, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Li Xu woke up just as the sky began to lighten.

After a quick wash-up, he immediately opened the video again, watching and studying it repeatedly from the beginning, frame by frame.

He watched from six in the morning straight through to nine.

He was completely engrossed, and his understanding of "Mountain-Burning Fire" and "Penetratingly Cool" had reached a whole new level.

He had memorized the theory, and a strong, eager impulse rose within him. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He thought of the set of acupuncture needles his father had left him.

It was a set of stainless steel needles, versatile and suitable for a wide range of applications, but since he wasn’t skilled in acupuncture before, he had never used them.

Now, it was time for them to see the light of day again.

Just then, the clinic door was pushed open, and Song Sisi walked in carrying two steaming hot breakfasts.

"Boss, time for breakfast! I brought you soup dumplings today!"

Li Xu’s gaze instantly fell upon Song Sisi.

He looked at Song Sisi, his eyes glinting like a hunter who had just spotted his prey.

"Sisi," Li Xu said with an affable smile, "have you been feeling... uncomfortable anywhere lately?"

"Hm?" Song Sisi felt a little creeped out by his stare, but she still answered honestly, "Nothing major. It’s just that I’ve been giving a lot of Massages to patients recently, so my right shoulder always feels a bit sore, and my neck is stiff. Boss, if you have time later, could you give me a rubdown?"

"Massage?"

Li Xu’s eyes lit up. ’An opportunity!’

He smiled and shook his head. "Massage is a bit slow. I’ll show you a special skill today! I’ll give you... some acupuncture!"

"Acupuncture?"

The smile on Song Sisi’s face instantly froze.

Watching Li Xu take out a row of steel needles of varying lengths, all glinting coldly under the light, she couldn’t help but take a frightened step back.

"Boss... how come I never knew you could do acupuncture? These long needles... how much will it hurt when you stick them in? Don’t you dare use me for practice!"