William Clark appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was a bundle of nerves. Although he had the experience from Zhong Kui’s memories in his mind, this was actually his first time officially making a house call as a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. He thought, if his grandfather’s spirit could see him now, he would surely be gratified! Back then, his grandfather had forced him to study medicine. Although he learned it, every time his grandfather wanted him to diagnose a patient independently, he would always find an excuse to slip away. Now, with no one forcing him, he was the one making the house call. Life is truly unpredictable!

William Clark pushed open the bedroom door and walked in, sat by the bed, took a deep breath to calm himself, then extended his left hand and gently placed three fingers on the patient’s wrist at the three pulse positions. He closed his eyes and, like a meditating monk, carefully felt the pulse.

Everyone in the room watched William Clark take the pulse, all astonished. No one had expected William Clark to be a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. In their minds, a TCM doctor should be an elderly man with a white beard. Seeing William Clark so young, they all looked doubtful.

“Hmph, who knows if he’s just putting on a show? Who would believe someone this young!” Chris Brooks snorted disdainfully.

Although Chris Brooks’s words were unpleasant, they voiced what everyone was thinking.

William Clark paid no attention to Chris Brooks’s remarks. The best way to fight back was to cure the patient in a moment; that would be even more satisfying than slapping him in the face. So William Clark simply ignored Chris Brooks.

A minute later, he withdrew his hand, pondered for a moment, and said, “The patient is suffering from gastrointestinal damp-cold with diarrhea.” William Clark knew that, because of his youth, everyone would be suspicious, so he used only the “palpation” method from the four diagnostic methods of TCM, just to impress them.

“Haha, that’s hilarious! Just by feeling the pulse you know what the illness is? Do you think you’re Hua Tuo reincarnated? If that’s the case, then I can say I’m a doctor too!” Chris Brooks laughed arrogantly. At first, seeing William Clark so confident, he was afraid William Clark might really have the skills to cure Old Carter, which would ruin his own plans. But when he saw William Clark simply feel the patient’s wrist and then declare the cause, Chris Brooks was completely relieved.

“Xiao Xiao, do you want to take another look?” Although Emily Foster had great confidence in William Clark, seeing him diagnose the cause so quickly still made him a bit uneasy.

The people in the room began to talk among themselves. Teacher Carter had spent a night in the hospital and taken all the necessary medicine, but hadn’t improved. Yet William Clark had diagnosed the cause just by taking the pulse, which they simply couldn’t believe.

Only Director Howard sat there deep in thought, saying nothing. When he was young, Director Howard had followed his mentor and met a national master of TCM. That master never asked about symptoms—just by taking the pulse, he could determine the cause. There was once a patient with severe diabetes who had been declared terminal in the hospital and was surviving only on insulin. But the master simply took his pulse, said nothing, and prescribed ten doses of medicine. The patient, with nothing to lose, took the medicine, and after finishing it, no longer felt weak. Fearing it was just a last burst of energy before death, he went to the hospital for a checkup. To everyone’s shock, his blood sugar was completely normal.

Chapter 11: The Difference Between Chinese and Western Medicine

At this moment, seeing William Clark also diagnose the cause just by taking the pulse, Director Howard wondered if he too had the skills of a national master. But how could that be? Which national master hadn’t spent decades honing their craft? Still, he couldn’t help but feel a new respect for William Clark.

Seeing the doubt on everyone’s faces, William Clark didn’t explain much and calmly said, “The patient is not in serious danger. In a moment, I’ll use acupuncture to treat him, and then prescribe a few doses of medicine. He’ll be fine after that.”

“What are you, boasting like that? This isn’t child’s play!” Chris Brooks felt a pang of panic at William Clark’s confidence and snapped in anger.

“Shut up!” Director Howard’s eyebrows shot up. He glared fiercely at Chris Brooks: “Are you the doctor, or is he?”

Director Howard saw how confident William Clark was, and when he said that just acupuncture and a few doses of medicine would cure the patient, he exuded a trustworthy aura—one very similar to what Director Howard had felt from that national master years ago. Could he really have such skill?

He then turned to William Clark and said, “Dr. Xiao, can you explain the origin of the patient’s illness, the condition of his intestines, and why his high fever hasn’t subsided?” Director Howard voiced his questions, and also used this as a test to see if William Clark truly had the skills of a great master, or if he was just bluffing and deceiving people.

William Clark walked to the patient’s bedside, showing his honest and harmless smile: “Teacher Carter, have you always had a weak stomach? And did you eat something cold yesterday?”

“Nonsense!”

Chris Brooks, just scolded, didn’t dare speak loudly this time. He muttered quietly in the crowd: You feel his wrist and say he’s always had a weak stomach and ate something cold yesterday; if you felt his ankle, would you be able to tell what he ate in his past life?

“Ah!” The extremely weak Teacher Carter on the bed was shocked when he heard what William Clark said, his face showing utter astonishment.