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In the past, Liu Juanzi, at the end of the Jin Dynasty, was hunting and shooting arrows in the suburbs of Danyang. He suddenly saw an object, approximately two zhang high. When he shot it, it made a sound like thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. That night, he dared not pursue further. At dawn, he led several disciples and younger relatives to follow the tracks down to the foot of the mountain. There, they saw a child carrying a jar. They asked where he was going and for what purpose. The child replied, "My master was shot by Liu Juanzi; I am fetching water to wash his wound." Liu Juanzi then asked the child, "Who is your master?" People said he was the "Huangfu Ghost" (Yellow Father Ghost). Thus, they brought the child along and returned to the gate. Hearing the sound of pounding herbs, they looked from afar and saw three people: one reading a book, one pounding herbs, and one lying down. Everyone shouted and rushed forward, causing the three to flee. They left behind a scroll titled *Yongju Fang* (Prescriptions for Carbuncles and Ulcers) and a mortar of medicine.

At that time, Liu Juanzi was participating in the northern expedition with Emperor Wu of Song. For those who had wounds, applying this medicine resulted in immediate healing. Commentators said, "What sages create, Heaven must assist. This is Heaven granting [the formula] to King Wu (Emperor Wu of Song)." Consequently, using this prescription for treatment, there was hardly one mistake in a thousand.

Liu Juanzi's sister, who was married to my great-uncle, sent a letter detailing this event along with a volume of prescriptions. The prescriptions were written on thin white paper from Danyang, and the handwriting still exists. My family has generations of expertise in treating conditions with formulas, but I did not pass them on. His grandson, Daoqing, lived next door to me, and our relationship was exceptionally close. On his deathbed, he told me, "There are divine prescriptions at home, but my son is young. If not given to the right person, the Way will not be transmitted in vain." I examined the scrolls and diagnostic methods, and while discerning the properties of the herbs, I intended to entrust them to him. Since I loved medical arts, I accepted without refusal. Having obtained this prescription for five years now, all cases treated have been cured. It can indeed be called miraculously effective throughout the world.

The prescriptions originally sent by the Liu family to the Gong family were handwritten drafts and lacked order. I have now arranged their sequence, grouped similar categories together, and compiled this volume to circulate among the local community. May learned individuals use it for prevention. Written on the fifth day of the fifth month of the year Ji-Mao (Yongyuan 1st Year of Qi).

Daoqing stated: "Grandmother Wang's Liu family possessed this 'Ghost Prescription' volume. My ancestors passed it down, and we carefully followed the prescriptions for treatment, ensuring no mistakes. My uncle-grandfather Juanzi and his brothers copied it themselves, stating they used 'Danyang Records' due to a lack of paper. In the 19th year of Yonghe, resources were not poor; why would there be no paper? Hence this distinction." (Note: The Yonghe era lasted only twelve years, and it was far removed from the time of Emperor Wu of Song; it is suspected to be an error for the Yuanjia era.)

Huangfu said: "Regarding carbuncles and ulcers, how do we distinguish them?" Qibo answered: "When Ying (Nutritive) and Wei (Defensive) qi stagnate within the meridians, blood flow becomes sluggish over time. Sluggish blood flow causes Wei qi to become obstructed and unable to circulate freely. Stagnation leads to uncontrolled fire heat, which overheats and rots the flesh into pus. However, if it does not penetrate to the skin or bone marrow, causing scorching and dryness, and does not damage the Five Viscera, it is termed a Carbuncle (Yong). [Textual anomaly: Original says 'Therefore it is called Huang', likely a corruption or specific term]."

He asked: "What is an Ulcer (Ju)?" Qibo said: "When pathogenic heat floats and surges, depleting the healthy flesh and sinews, it is termed an Ulcer (Ju). The skin and flesh of a Ju are hard and thick, resembling the hide of an ox neck. A Carbuncle (Yong) is thinner and moist, contrasting with the characteristics of a Ju."

Huangfu said: "As described, I do not yet understand the nature, names, origins, diagnostic signs, prognosis of treatment versus non-treatment, and timelines for life and death of carbuncles and ulcers. Please explain them one by one." Qibo said: "According to the Diagram of Carbuncles and Ulcers:

A Red Carbuncle (Chi Yong) arising on the forehead: If not drained, death occurs in ten-plus days. If treated within five days, it may heal. If there is excessive pus and blood, death ensues; if no pus has formed, it is treatable. For patients aged 25, 31, 69, or 15, if a lesion on the forehead bleeds, death results.

Bird Ulcer (Qin Ju): Arising as dozens of nodules like chariot cushions. By the fourth day, swelling consolidates, causing pulling pain in the nodes, resembling spasms. Treatable within ten days. If muscle nodes feel cold, teeth clench (trismus), and sweating is desired, death occurs in fifteen days.

Shu Ulcer: Arising on the vertex or below both ears. If not drained, death in sixteen days. Treatable within six days. If black and showing pus with carbuncle features, death is inevitable. For ages 19, 23, 35, 39, 51, 55, 61, 87, 99, the 'Hundred Spirits' reside below the ears; bleeding indicates death.

Ding Ulcer: Arising on both shoulders. Associated with malignant knots, internal and external blood flow obstruction, and stagnation of Ying and Wei qi. After three days, severe body swelling and pain, trismus resembling convulsions. Treatable within ten days. Untreated, death in twenty days.

Bee Ulcer (Feng Ju): Arising on the thigh back, starting at Xinshu (BL15), extending to shoulder bones. Untreated for twenty days, death ensues. Treatable within eight days. If red-black with green pus, death is inevitable. For ages 18, 24, 35, 67, 72, 98, the 'Hundred Spirits' reside in the shoulders; bleeding indicates death.

Yin Ulcer: Arising on the thigh, specifically the inner upper leg. Symptoms include stiff waist, inability to stop internal symptoms internally, and inability to drink much despite frequent thirst. If hard and painful after five days and untreated, death in three years.

Ulcer arising at Feishu (BL13): Untreated for twenty days, death ensues. Treatable within eight days. If the face is red and the flesh resembles peppercorns, death is inevitable. For ages 19, 25, 29, 39, 57, 60, 73, 81, 97, the 'Hundred Spirits' reside in the back; bleeding indicates death.

Mai Ulcer: Arising on the neck. Pain radiates with body heat, desire to remain still and quiet, or inability to eat. Caused by great fear and shock leading to essence depletion, upper jiao qi rebellion, and cough. Ears may swell. Treatable within twenty days; untreated, death in eighty days.

Dragon Ulcer (Long Ju): Arising on the back at Weishu (BL21) or Shenshu (BL23). Untreated for twenty days without drainage, death ensues. Treatable within nine days. If untreated, upper part red, lower part black, or green/black pus, death results. Bleeding pus is not fatal.

Head Ulcer (Shou Ju): Fever lasts eighty days. Another source states: High fever and sweating on the head after eight or nine days, drawing out blood like coughing, body heat boiling. Skin is swollen; shallow puncture is indicated. Untreated, death in twenty days.

Rong Ulcer: Arising on the flanks or elbows. Untreated for twenty-five days without drainage, death ensues. Treatable within nine days. Excessive red and white pus is treatable. For ages 1, 16, 26, 32, 48, 58, 64, 80, 96, the 'Hundred Spirits' reside in the flanks; bleeding indicates death.

Xing Ulcer: Appears as swelling, sometimes merging sequentially. Puncture at the site leads to recovery.

Yong Ulcer: Arising on the thigh from Taiyin, resembling a hidden rat. Untreated for twenty-five days without drainage, death ensues. Treatable within ten days. Green-black pus indicates death; white pus is treatable. For ages 11, 15, 20, 31, 33, 46, 59, 63, 75, 91, the 'Hundred Spirits' reside in the sacrum/tailbone; bleeding indicates death.

Shu Ulcer: Back heat, tinnitus, swelling like accumulated water after sixty days. Treatable if these signs appear. Clearing fluid and blood leads to recovery. Untreatable for ages 57, 65, 73, 81, 97. 'Hundred Spirits' in the back; bleeding indicates death.

Pang Ulcer: On the dorsum of the foot or sole. Untreated for thirty days without drainage, death ensues. Treatable within twelve days. White pus should not be excessive. Itchy, red, or black lesions indicate death. For ages 13, 29, 35, 61, 73, 93, 'Hundred Spirits' in the feet; bleeding indicates death.

Chong Ulcer: Small intestine pain with chills and fever. Quiet for four to five days, changing by the sixth day. Death in fifty days.

Dun Ulcer: On the tips of toes. Untreated for seven to eight days without drainage, death ensues. Treatable within four days. Black and congested lesions are untreatable; before passing the joint, it is treatable. (Another source calls this 'Bai Ju' from *Mingtang*).

Jie Ulcer: In armpits, arms, or palms. Chills, fever, dry throat, vomiting after drinking, irritability. Quiet for sixty days with gradual closure. Sweating indicates survival; no sweating indicates death. (Another source calls this 'Chuang Ju').

Jin Ulcer: On the large tendons on both sides of the spine, pale color. Treatable within eight days. Pus in the abdominal muscles indicates death in ten days.

Chen Gan Ju: On both arms. Painful and immobile for three to four days. Body heat and red face at fifty days. Treatable at sixty days. Puncture without blood leads to recovery in three to four days.

Sao Ulcer: At the joints of fingers and toes, color unchanged. Treatable within ten days. Delayed puncture leads to erosion. Carbuncle in the axillary pulse area indicates death in three years.

Shu Ulcer: Body swelling with pulling nodes, fever preventing walking or bending/straightening. Puncture when pus forms removes the condition.

White Ulcer (Bai Ju): Spleen or elbow posterior, itching, self-inflicted pain injury. Body heat and profuse sweating. Multiple lesions (five or six) indicate death. Heart governs carbuncles/ulcers; lesions on thighs/shins die in six days; pus/blood discharge dies in sixty days.

Black Ulcer (Hei Ju): Swelling on the large bones of the back. Treatable within eight days. Delayed puncture becomes Bone Ulcer.

Bone Ulcer: Pus cannot be stopped, high fever, bone fragmentation. Death in sixty days. Shaoyang swelling on the flank/neck dies in eight days. Pus/blood discharge dies in ten days.

Chuang Ju: Body itch followed by pain. Cold qi entering viscera, severe manifestation as sores. Treatable within nine days; untreated, death in ninety days. Taiyang swelling in the waist, intersecting Yangming in the neck dies in ten days. Swelling dies in seventy days.

Sacral Taiyang abscess, Shaoyang carbuncle in the sole of the foot dies in eight days. Pus/blood discharge dies in sixty or eighty days.

Yangming swelling in the head, carbuncle in the sacrum dies in six days. Pus/blood discharge dies in sixty days.

Taiyin swelling in the thigh, Taiyang carbuncle in the foot dies in seventeen days. Pus/blood discharge dies in one hundred days.

Taiyang swelling in the shoulder, neck carbuncle dies in eight days. Pus/blood discharge dies in one hundred days.

Shaoyang swelling in the foot, flank carbuncle dies in eight days. Pus/blood discharge dies in six hundred days.

Yangming swelling in the hand, Yuanye carbuncle dies in one year. Pus dies in three years.

Black Ulcer in Yuanye dies.

Black Ulcer in the ear, size of a rice grain, is untreatable and fatal.

Black Ulcer on the shoulder dies. Black Ulcer in the supraclavicular fossa is named Fu Ju (Hidden Ulcer), untreatable and fatal.

Red Carbuncle arising from the Spleen: Treatable at midnight, dies after the year.

Black Ulcer above and below the elbow: Not fatal, treatable.

Thigh/Toe root black head with red tip dies.

Black Ulcer in the palm: Not fatal, treatable.

Red Carbuncle in the inner thigh: Soft is treatable, hard is fatal.

Red Carbuncle in the fatty intestines dies.

Black Ulcer on the patella: Soft is treatable, hard is untreatable.

Red Carbuncle in the palm: Untreatable.

Black Ulcer on the dorsum of the foot: Hard is fatal.

Old swelling/carbuncle on the sole, red color, dies.

Carbuncles that are high and shiny are not very hot. Use thin layers to flatten the flesh; if purple, no treatment is needed, merely use Huangqi (Astragalus) and Danzhuye (Bamboo Leaf) decoction to ventilate qi. Flat and painful carbuncles use Bawu Huangqi (Eight-Ingredient Astragalus). Large carbuncles take seven days, small ones five days. For stubborn, dark-colored lesions, back breaks, or breast cancer-like masses where heat prevents touch, first administer Wangbuliuxing San (Vaccaria Seed Powder), then externally apply Fabei Dahuang Gao (Back-Breaking Rhubarb Ointment). For back breaks or breast lesions without toxicity, check for ripeness by pressing; if it rebounds immediately, it is ripe. Acupuncture depth for chest/back must not exceed one cun. If pus does not form after a long time, use Shirou Gao San (Flesh-Eating Ointment Powder). To clear heat from the mouth/body, rest and take Mugua San (Papaya Powder). After five days, if the carbuncle is nearing resolution, use Pai Nong Nei Han San (Drain Pus and Internal Cold Powder).

After lancing a carbuncle, if the patient feels continuously weak and near death with internal cold-heat swelling, and the swelling seems like a carbuncle but is not, press the swelling; if there is no connection, it is Wind Toxicity. Do not needle; instead, take Shengma Tang (Cimicifuga Decoction) and apply ointment externally. The lanced wound should drain downwards; needle near the top if extremely hot to relieve pain. For broken carbuncles that fail to heal, wash with Zhuti Tang (Pig Trotter Decoction) twice daily for two days. In winter, half a dose for six to seven days is acceptable. If breath stops in the chest, enter darkness, press the left eye, and look at the right eye; seeing light indicates chest carbuncle; not seeing light indicates internal Faob Ju (Agitated Ulcer) damaging vessels, causing blood stasis and retention forming a carbuncle. Kidney pulse coming large then small, Yin knot, or muscle bi-carbuncle appearing at Cunkou: if large then gradually small...

Black color indicates Stone Retention Yellow Toxicity. Red indicates Cinnabar Toxicity. Green indicates Realgar Toxicity. Salt-crystal-like indicates Galena/Stalactite Toxicity. Yellow water indicates Apricot/Peach Human Toxicity. White water indicates Aconite and Dried Ginger Toxicity. Pus indicates Heat Meat Face etc. Toxicity. Take one liang of blood from the crest of a white male duck, mixed with one tea bowl of Heiqian Tang (Black Lead Decoction), taken orally to resolve Stalactite toxicity. One liang of blood from a rooster's elbow, mixed with one tea bowl of Zhenfen Tang (Needle Powder Decoction), resolves Aconite toxicity. Three sheng of Aconite peel and half sheng of Fermented Soybean, boiled in one sheng of water to yield one tea bowl, resolves Cinnabar toxicity. Half liang each of Black Lead, Huangqi (Astragalus), Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia), and Fulonggan (Dragon's House Earth), boiled in one sheng of water to yield half a tea bowl, filtered and taken, resolves toxicity.