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Scorpion: Color is greenish, taste is salty (originally not salty, but becomes salty because they are all pickled in salt water), nature is slightly warm. It has a strong affinity for the Liver Meridian, can search out wind pathogens and induce sweating, treating spasms, epilepsy with convulsions, facial deviation due to stroke, or general numbness. Although its nature is toxic, it conversely excels at detoxification, eliminating various sores and ulcers. It serves as a complementary herb to Centipede (Wugong), where their combined powers enhance each other.

The venom contained in this creature is sulfuric acid; its various medicinal effects also largely rely on this. For those stung by its venomous sting, applying Western medicine baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or alkali can resolve the toxicity, as both substances can neutralize acid.

[Attached Case] A young woman from the Liu family in this village developed a severe swelling and hardness under her chin due to epidemic toxin, with slight heat upon palpation. At that time, I was just coming of age and my medical expertise was not yet profound. After administering two doses of medicine, there was little effect. Later, someone taught me a prescription: use seven whole scorpions caught from the wall, roast until scorched, grind into powder, and take in two divided doses with yellow wine. After taking this prescription for three days, the sore disappeared completely without any trace. This is likely because the scorpions obtained from the wall had not been pickled in salt water, preserving their full potency, thus yielding particularly rapid results.

A vigorous adult man from Zhangmacun, a neighboring village, suffered from hemibody numbness due to stroke. Regardless of what diaphoretic medicines he took, his half-body produced absolutely no sweat. Later, he obtained a prescription using two taels of scorpions purchased from the pharmacy, stir-fried with salt and ground finely, mixed with brown sugar water and taken in one dose. His half-body immediately began to sweat, and the numbness was cured. However, the medicinal power is too potent; it should not be used lightly unless the patient is robust.

Cicada Slough: Odorless and tasteless, nature is slightly cool. It can induce sweating and excel at resolving exterior wind-heat, making it an essential herb for the initial stage of warm diseases. It also excels at pushing hidden rashes (urticaria) outward, possessing the power of "treating skin with skin," thus serving as a key herb for treating urticaria. When used together with Snake Slough, it effectively treats generalized pruritus caused by tinea and eczema. If taken alone as a powder, it excels at dissolving maggots in sores; after several doses, the maggots naturally dissolve. Since it does not eat food but frequently produces urine, it also excels at promoting urination. Because it is the shed skin of the cicada, it can also remove corneal opacities.

Cicadas can also stop infantile night crying and are effective in treating hoarseness. I recall in the autumn of 1936, my friend Mr. Yao was accidentally attacked by an exterior pathogen, resulting in hoarseness lasting over a month. I prescribed a formula for him consisting of 2 qian of clean Cicada Slough (legs and dirt removed), 1 liang of Talcum (Huashi), 4 qian of Ophiopogon Root (Maidong), 5 Sterculia Lychnophora Seeds (Pangdahai), and 2 qian each of Mulberry Leaf (Sangye) and Mint Leaf (Bohe). I instructed him to steep these in a teapot and drink as tea. His voice recovered in one day, became clear in two days, and was fully healed in three days. Subsequently, this formula cured many others, proving reliable every time tested.

Respectfully recorded by student Sun [Name Redacted]