Taking Thomas Reed's pulse, David Harris's long eyebrows furrowed slightly. After a moment, he spoke softly: "Big Brother Reed, please switch to your right hand."

Thomas Reed didn't put on any airs this time. Without a word, he extended his right hand, slowly withdrawing his stiff left arm and placing it by his side, still feeling numb and unresponsive. The once blood-red color had long since faded away.

Focusing intently as he took Thomas Reed's pulse for a while, David Harris slowly withdrew his right hand, his furrowed brows relaxing. He said solemnly, "Big Brother Reed, the Red Sand Palm you practice is an extremely yang and forceful external martial art. Wuyang wood is the second most yang thing in the world, and you've carried it with you for a long time..."

"Wait, wait, wait..."

Before David Harris could finish, Thomas Reed interrupted, his face full of confusion.

"What Wuyang wood? This is Zhengyang wood..."

Chapter 7 Prescription

David Harris smiled and asked calmly, "Big Brother Reed, where did you get this box?"

"My old man came across it by chance in his later years and passed it on to me."

Thomas Reed answered simply.

"That makes sense. Although Zhengyang wood also gathers yang energy, it's not the same as Wuyang wood—they're completely incomparable. If you put Zhengyang wood and Wuyang wood together, the result is the same as with your piece of fire rock warm jade: within a year, all the yang energy will be completely absorbed by the Wuyang wood."

"But, but I've carried this thing with me for so many years, and I haven't noticed it absorbing my yang energy..."

Thomas Reed even started to stutter, especially when it came to the idea of absorbing yang energy, which made him shiver uncontrollably. Having grown up in the mountains where the Miao and Yao peoples live together, he'd heard plenty of strange tales since childhood—and he believed them.

So, could this thing have become a spirit, a monster?

David Harris smiled and said, "There's no need to worry about that. Humans are the most intelligent of all beings... Big Brother Reed, you've carried such an extremely yang object with you, and after decades of practicing the Red Sand Palm, the yang energy in your body is incredibly abundant. Too much yang energy harms the soul. Now the illness has penetrated to the bone; simply taking Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail Grass won't be effective—it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. If you trust me, Big Brother Reed, I'll write you a prescription. Maybe it can neutralize the harm from the Wuyang wood."

"Alright."

Thomas Reed agreed without hesitation, his tone no longer so stiff, even becoming quite respectful.

As the saying goes, outsiders watch the excitement, insiders see the subtleties. Most of the onlookers didn't understand martial arts and couldn't see what was going on, but he himself knew perfectly well. Just now, he had actually exchanged a move with David Harris.

And with just that one move, he had suffered a heavy defeat.

If it had been a real life-and-death fight, Thomas Reed figured he wouldn't have lasted long.

This young man turned out to be an absolute master.

Thomas Reed was not angry, but delighted.

Over the years, nourished by the extreme yang energy of the Wuyang wood, Thomas Reed had trained his Red Sand Palm to an extremely high level, even surpassing the father who had taught him the technique. However, his body had developed problems as a result. Although he had always forcibly suppressed it and outsiders couldn't tell, the illness was within him—just because others couldn't see it didn't mean he didn't know.

Thomas Reed was not only a martial arts expert but also well-versed in pharmacology, and as a herbalist, he had written prescriptions for himself, trying various treatments, but none had much effect.

Thomas Reed was quite troubled.

Now, after hearing David Harris's explanation, Thomas Reed finally realized the problem lay with the "Zhengyang wood." He vaguely remembered his father mentioning that "Zhengyang wood" was an extremely yang tonic, a rare treasure for martial artists practicing yang-based techniques. With its yang energy, training would yield twice the results with half the effort. But his father had never told him that too much yang energy could backfire.

It's not surprising, really. Wuyang wood is like a teapot, and Thomas Reed is a teacup. If the teacup is bigger than the teapot, it can easily hold all the water from the teapot. On the other hand, if the teacup is smaller, the tea will overflow. Thomas Reed's mistake was not knowing how to control the balance—by carrying the Wuyang wood with him all the time, the tea from the teapot kept pouring into the cup, whether he could handle it or not.

If someone who didn't understand martial arts had said this to him, Thomas Reed definitely wouldn't have believed it.

But David Harris was clearly different.

This young man, who looked pale, gentle, and even a bit thin, had easily broken through his decades-honed Red Sand Palm technique with just a flick of his little finger—Thomas Reed couldn't help but be convinced.

David Harris's demeanor was extremely gentle, without a trace of aggression, and he had an air of a king about him. Unconsciously, Thomas Reed was deeply impressed.

There was paper and pen prepared on the tea table. This was in consideration of some guests who were especially cautious and preferred not to speak, so the host had provided paper and pen for "written conversation."