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Yang suffered from a swelling on his back. Ma Siming applied refined stone to the affected area, and he recovered promptly. The method for refining stone is as follows: Take a coarse yellow stone the size of a goose or duck egg, roast it fiercely over a strong fire, and then immediately plunge it into pure vinegar. Stone flakes will naturally fall off. Repeat the roasting process until the stone is completely reduced to flakes. Dry the flakes in the sun, crush them, and sieve them. Mix with vinegar and apply to the swelling; there is no case that cannot be cured.

When Emperor Renzong was still Crown Prince (in the Eastern Palace), he suffered bitterly from a swelling in his cheek/parotid region. He applied powder of Adzuki Bean (Vigna angularis) externally, and subsequently recovered. It is said that this method can also treat "Fa Bei" (Back Carbuncle) (from *Dongwei Zhi*).

The *Shuowen Jiezi* states: "Ying" refers to a tumor of the neck. The *Dianshu* states: Ingesting Asparagus Root (Tianmendong, *Asparagi Radix*) treats Ying and eliminates hundred diseases (from *Taiping Yulan*).

People in Ruzhou often suffer from cervical goiter (Ying). This is because the terrain is windy and sandy; sand enters the well water, and drinking this water causes goiter. Therefore, people in Jinxiang and Fangling areas use tin to make well rims, pressing them down with coins containing tin, or sinking tin into the well, so that drinkers are spared this affliction. An old monk from Huating once traveled and stayed at temples under the jurisdiction of Henan. None of the monks, servants, or attendants in those temples were free from goiter. At that time, a monk from Luoyang shared a room with him. Every meal, they took dried seaweed strips (Tai Fu) to eat together. After several months, the growths on the old monk's neck disappeared completely, as if he had never been ill. The temple servants were amazed and wondered, realizing that salty substances from the coast could cure this disease (from *Guixin Zashi*).

Zheng Changqing, titled Zizheng, narrated: When he was young, he accompanied his father, Grand Commandant, to Huaizhou. A military officer there ingested Rhizoma Curculiginis (Xianmao, *Curculiginis Rhizoma*) and suffered poisoning. His tongue swelled; when he exited the camp gate, the tongue had grown progressively larger, reaching the level of his shoulders. Physicians skilled in medicine looked around but could not treat it. Only one physician said, "It can still be saved, but delay will be fatal." He took a small knife and punctured the tongue. With each puncture, the wound closed slightly. After about a hundred punctures, only a drop of blood emerged. The physician rejoiced, saying, "No harm done." The tongue immediately subsided and shrank. He then ordered several bowls of Rhubarb Root (Dahuang, *Rhei Radix et Rhizoma*) and Mirabilite (Puxiao, *Natrii Sulfas*) to be boiled and taken continuously, while also sprinkling the medicinal powder onto the tongue. Thus, he recovered.

Furthermore, Gai Liang, Langzhong, stated: His elder brother, Gai Shen, contracted an illness. Physician Lu Sheng advised him to consume Fuzi Wine. Each time, two liang of large Prepared Aconite Root (Fuzi, *Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata*) were sliced and soaked in one dou of wine. Upon rising in the morning, he would drink one cup. He continued this regimen for twenty years. Later, he served as the Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi. Gai Liang returned from the Imperial Academy and passed through Nanle County, inviting his brother to travel with him. On the way, in the cold dawn, Gai Shen drank one cup of wine, then asked for another half cup to be warmed. By the time the wine arrived, he felt slightly intoxicated and allowed his wife to drink a few sips. After walking a few li, his wife's head swelled to the size of a measuring bowl, her lips cracked and bled. She stopped by the roadside and called out to the luggage carriers. The accompanying medical officer told them, "Have black beans and mung beans, several he in quantity, chewed raw and decocted in soup, and drunk together." By dawn, the swelling subsided. Gai Shen continued taking the medicine without cessation. Upon arriving in Chang'an, he went blind after several months and thus resigned from office. He was only forty-two years old at the time.