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It is not difficult to cure a disease; it is difficult to know whether the disease will inevitably recover or inevitably fail to recover. When people fall ill, not all cases are fatal. Quack doctors treat them, and their treatments are not necessarily contrary to the nature of the disease. For both external contraction (Wai Gan) and internal injury (Nei Shang), there are present manifestations of the disease. Rough treatment will naturally lead to recovery. Moreover, in mild cases, even without medication, gradual recovery can occur. Even in critical conditions, if the physician avoids major errors, as the pathogenic factors (Xie Qi) gradually recede, the patient will naturally tend toward peace. Therefore, curing the disease is not the primary capability of the physician. Only by being able to determine life and death, ease and difficulty, at first sight regardless of the severity of the illness, with almost no failure, can one achieve the highest merit of learning, which is beyond the comprehension of those who have only superficial knowledge.

To predict recovery for mild diseases and death for severe diseases is still relatively easy to understand. It is difficult, however, to predict inevitable death when the symptoms appear very mild, and to predict inevitable survival when the condition appears very severe. Furthermore, there are cases where the disease seems cured, but death follows shortly after. This is because although the pathogenic factors have been expelled, the person's Yuan Qi (Primordial Qi) has perished along with the disease. Although there is a temporary rough stability, the Zhen Qi (True Qi) cannot be restored. It is like two tigers fighting: although one wins, its strength is completely exhausted, and even a skilled artisan cannot save it. There are also cases where the disease does not heal, yet the person does not die. This is because the pathogenic factors are vigorous while the Yuan Qi is solid. The pathogenic factors and Yuan Qi are intertwined; aggressive attack risks damaging the healthy Qi, while mild attack fails to move the disease. It is like oil mixing into flour; once combined, they cannot be separated, yet it does not lead to death. These two scenarios are unknown to ordinary people. The general principle is: when pathogenic qi enters the Zang-Fu organs (Zang Fu), the disease and the person often perish together; when the disease is in the meridians, collaterals, bones, and vessels, the disease and the person often coexist. This distinguishes between interior/exterior and light/severe conditions. At the initial stage of these two types of diseases, there must be signs to indicate the trend. Skilled physicians, knowing this, will naturally employ methods to prevent minor issues from escalating. They neither allow the condition to perish with the disease nor let it persist for life. This requires someone who deeply understands the principles of the classics to trace the source and flow, and to intervene in ways unseen by others.