Physician's Odyssey

Chapter 883 - Disharmony between the Heart and Kidney

Su Tao was a little speechless when he saw Jin Kang’s hostility. But it was difficult for him to talk about Jin Kang’s condition in public. Since Jin Kang wasn’t willing to go down on his own, he could only take measures to calm the situation for the moment.

With a smile, he asked, “Do you suffer from insomnia often?”

Jin Kang’s eyes flickered as he looked at Su Tao, “No. I sleep well.”

Jin Kang was speaking against his heart. In reality, he often suffered from insomnia. But he often needed to be on duty as a doctor, especially since he had been diligent in his work for the past few years to obtain the deputy head position. So his work and rest schedule had been chaotic. His schedule only calmed down after obtaining the deputy head position. However, he was still troubled by insomnia.

Su Tao knew that Jin Kang was lying. According to TCM, there were three reasons for insomnia, the disharmony between the heart and kidney, the lack of blood, and an empty stomach.

Jin Kang’s insomnia was due to the disharmony between his heart and kidney. It was common when you couldn’t sleep at night. In the morning, you would also feel especially exhausted with heavy legs. This was because of staying up late for a long period.

The disharmony between heart and kidney could cause many complicated conditions, and insomnia was just one of them.

The reason why Su Tao felt that he had to talk with Jin Kang privately was that besides insomnia, Jin Kang was also suffering from other complications that weren’t appropriate for him to say it out in public.

But Jin Kang had refused Su Tao’s words, which made things difficult for Su Tao. When the audience heard that, they began to discuss among themselves.

Jin Kang had a smug on his face as he waited for Su Tao’s response.

Su Tao sighed inwardly. He had committed a mistake. In TCM, there was a saying that doctors don’t knock on the patient’s door. If the patient wasn’t seeking medical help, it would be hard for you to treat him.

He was under the impression that most doctors here would at least cooperate with him, but he did not expect that Jin Kang would try to make things difficult for him.

Su Tao was also aware of the difficulty of today’s lecture. He might be a National Healer, but not everyone might be convinced about it. There were certainly people with doubts or even hostile towards him.

Then again, that was reasonable. He was only in his early twenties, while most people here were in their middle-age. They were all experienced medical staff who fought at the front line for years. So it was natural that they doubted Su Tao’s medical skills.

However, Su Tao wasn’t bothered and smiled, “May I ask your surname?”

“Jin.” Jin Kang replied.

Nodding his head, Su Tao replied, “Mr. Jin, you’re a doctor yourself. So you should know the taboo of hiding an illness. The reason why I wanted to communicate with you privately is that your condition concerns your privacy. I can announce it publicly if you’re suffering from common illnesses such as coughs and fractures. But yours is somewhat special. So if I reveal it in public, it will only embarrass you. As a physician, I want to respect my patient’s secrets. Now that you’re on the stage to receive my diagnosis and treatment, I am responsible for you.”

Jin Kang began to panic when he heard Su Tao’s words. But as a doctor, he knew about his health well. Apart from insomnia, there should be no major problems with his health.

Wearing a disdainful smile, Jin Kang replied, “Don’t try to fool everyone. Insomnia is something that modern people would often encounter. According to scientific statistics, 40% of adults would suffer from it. It’s related to work pressure. But I don’t belong to that 40%. So you’re wrong and don’t try to scare me. I’m not that foolish.”

Jin Kang’s voice wasn’t loud, but most people had certainly heard it. Everyone felt sympathy for Su Tao to find a stubborn person.

Tao Qiuping wore a grave expression as he watched this scene unfolding before him. He had personally invited Su Tao over, but the doctor of his hospital had no intention of being cooperative.

Sitting beside him, Nicholas was rejoicing in his heart despite his calm outer appearance. He originally wanted James to embarrass Su Tao, but he never expected that someone would do it instead. If Jin Kang continues to embarrass Su Tao, then this lecture would definitely be messed up.

Tao Qiuping beckoned his assistant.

His assistant had been paying attention to Tao Qiuping. When he saw Tao Qiuping waving his hand, he shifted his ears over.

“Get Jin Kang to get down. What is he doing trying to ruin the lecture?” Tao Qiuping instructed.

The assistant nodded and replied, “I’ll go up right now. He has always been a stable person. So why is he doing something so foolish today?”

Standing on the podium, Jin Kang had no knowledge that his actions had greatly ruined his reputation in Tao Qiuping’s mind. He continued to laugh, “My fellow colleagues. Mr. Su just talked about much basic knowledge about TCM, but I feel that western medicine is not suitable for modern development. Many diseases can be treated with TCM, but not all. If you ask them more about it, they would explain it in profound terms that you will not be able to understand. Putting it in a nutshell, TCM is nothing but a fraud. Many of you here have received higher education, so do not be misled by such absurd medical knowledge. You will only be a target for ridicule if other people heard about it.”

Jin Kang’s remarks were sharp, throwing Su Tao directly under the bus. He was saying that Su Tao was nothing but a fraud.

Su Tao sighed inwardly. He made many preparations for this talk, and he had also analyzed the fact that his guests wouldn’t cooperate with him. But he never expected that he would encounter such a thorn.

Tao Qiuping’s assistant went up the podium and whispered in Jin Kang’s ears, “What are you doing? Mr. Su is Mr. Tao’s guest. Mr. Tao had gone through great pains to invite him over. What you’re doing now isn’t just embarrassing Mr. Su, but you’re also embarrassing Mr. Tao.”

Jin Kang was stumped. He had always been a tactful person, but when he heard the assistant’s words, he was instantly placed in a difficult position. In a low voice, he replied, “I’m just discussing medical knowledge with Mr. Su. I did not consider that much.”

Jin Kang’s tone suddenly calmed down. However, he knew that from what he just did, he had completely ruined Su Tao’s lecture.

Su Tao wasn’t grateful at the fact that Tao Qiuping sent someone over to resolve this matter. If Jin Kang went down in this manner, it would be harder for him to convince everyone.

Seeing Su Tao’s silence, Jin Kang could only cup his hands together, “Mr. Su, I was too impulsive. I might be a little too blatant with my words, so don’t take it to heart. I’ll go down now. You can continue your talk and we can communicate privately.”

However, Jin Kang was feeling smug in his heart.

Waving his hand, Su Tao replied, “Please wait. What you just said not only humiliated me, but you also humiliated TCM. If you go down right now, won’t everything think that TCM is nothing but a fraud?”

Jin Kang looked at Su Tao with disdain. He wore a sneer on the corner of his lips.

With a faint smile, Su Tao walked over to the assistant and applied pressure on his waist, “Mr. Ma, do you feel anything?”

“I don’t feel anything.” The assistant looked at Su Tao in surprise.

Smiling at the assistant, Su Tao continued, “Do you remember the location I just pressed? Now do the same to Mr. Jin. The reason why I got you to do it is that I don’t want Mr. Jin to be unhappy about it. In addition, it will only make everyone misunderstand that I’m making him feel pain on purpose.”

Everyone had no idea why Su Tao wanted to do this. The assistant looked at Jin Kang and asked, “Is that okay?”

Jin Kang had no idea what Su Tao was trying to do now. If he denied, then the effect of what he said would disappear, making him seem like a deserter. But wasn’t it just applying pressure on his waist?

“Sure!” Jin Kang glanced at Su Tao. “But if I don’t feel anything, does that prove that TCM is all a lie?”

“TCM is the fruit of China’s wisdom for the past thousands of years. If my judgment is wrong, it will only prove that I’m not skillful enough. I cannot represent TCM by myself. As for your question, if you feel nothing, then I’ll resign from the Central Healthcare Bureau tomorrow.” Su Tao smiled.

Su Tao’s words caused a sensation among the audience. No one had expected that Su Tao would place his honor as a National Healer in the bet.

Tao Qiuping frowned among the audience. He was extremely unhappy with Jin Kang. What was that fool doing? He invited Su Tao to host a lecture hoping to forge a closer relationship with Su Tao. But Jin Kang had ruined it all.

Jin Kang had no idea that his actions had already got him listed on the president’s blacklist. He was still feeling smug on the stage forcing a National Healer to bet his title on the line.

“Then let’s get started.” Jin Kang sneered. He made the decision to bear the pain if he felt any discomfort.

Pointing to Jin Kang’s waist, the assistant asked, “Is it here?”

“Go up a little bit. Don’t use too much force. Just use how much strength I used earlier.” Su Tao corrected.

The assistant held onto Jin Kang’s shoulder with one hand and applied pressure with another on Jin Kang’s waist. Beads of sweat started to gather on Jin Kang’s forehead in the next second as he gasped for breath.

A few seconds later, Jin Kang finally couldn’t hold it anymore and yelled out in pain, “Stop! It hurts...”