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In the Jiaxu year of the Wanli reign, from mid-autumn to winter, epidemic pathogens prevailed. Within three months, I treated a total of seventy-two men, women, and infants among them. The most prominent family in the Tiao stream area was the Shen family. When Mr. Shu (courtesy name Guanyi), who held the title of Grand Minister of Ceremonies, served as Director of Evaluations, his youngest son suffered from wheezing and coughing with restlessness, hoarseness, fever, diarrhea, and purple macules that failed to resolve. I cured him using Xiaowubi San (Little Peerless Powder).

Mrs. Shen, while pregnant, experienced abdominal pain and fainting for five days. Renowned physicians such as Dr. Gao and Dr. Chen (who were relatives by marriage to the Shen family) were entrusted with all matters, great or small, yet they were unable to take any effective action. Upon my arrival, I palpated her pulse and found both hands presenting a flooding and large pulse. According to medical principles, purgation should be employed. However, everyone objected due to her pregnancy. I stated: "The Classic says: 'If there is an existing pathology, there will be no destruction [of the healthy qi], nor will there be destruction [of the fetus].'" She was already nine months pregnant and near delivery; how could fetal movement cause harm? If purgation is indicated but not administered, not only will the pain be unbearable, but unpredictable complications may arise. The Director of Evaluations accepted my advice and requested medicine. I prescribed Xiao Chengqi Tang (Minor Order the Yang Decoction) augmented with Perillae Caulis (Su Geng) and Amomum Fruit (Sha Ren). After administration, she stabilized.

The Director of Evaluations accidentally contracted wind pathogenic factors, resulting in headache, fatigue, chills, and fever resembling malaria, with a wiry, floating, and rapid pulse. I diagnosed this as a Xiao Chaihu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) pattern. One dose resulted in recovery. The Director of Evaluations had been on leave at home for twenty years and was deeply fond of medical texts. When I first arrived in Tiao, the locals did not know me. Hearing of my reputation, he eagerly sought to meet me, remarking that my treatments were remarkable. He also discussed Taiyang disease (Exterior Syndrome), variola (smallpox), and obstetrics with me, finding my insights accurate and profound, and agreed wholeheartedly. He told others: "An excellent chancellor and an excellent physician are alike. The attainment of Master Sun is such that even a thousand gold pieces cannot measure his worth." He specially wrote medical treatises in a booklet to ensure Master Sun's legacy would endure.

Scholar Zhang Houqu, in his thirties, suffered from Da Tou Yi (Great Head Epidemic / Plague of the Head). His head swelled as large as a bucket. His neck was invisible, his lips hung down to his chest, his complexion resembled purple liver, and he was comatose and unaware of his surroundings. Those who saw him fled in horror. That year, the epidemic was severe and virulent; people feared contagion, leading to the suspension of mourning and celebratory visits. Scholar Zhang and the son of the Director of Evaluations had jointly studied the Spring and Autumn Annals under Tao Chunyuan of Kuaiji. Tao invited me to examine Zhang. His pulse was floating, wiry, and rapid. Initially, I prescribed Bupleuri Radix (Chai Hu) 1 liang, Scutellariae Radix (Huang Qin) and Scrophulariae Radix (Xuan Shen) each 3 qian, Menthae Haplocalycis Herba (Bo He), Forsythiae Fructus (Lian Qiao), and Puerariae Radix (Ge Gen) each 2 qian, and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gan Cao) 1 qian. After three doses, the chills and fever subsided, and the wiry quality of the pulse diminished, leaving a flooding and large pulse. I deduced that the pathogen had transmitted to the Yangming channel. I then modified the prescription to use Cyperi Rhizoma (Guan Zhong) 1 liang, Puerariae Radix (Ge Gen) and Trichosanthis Radix (Tian Hua Fen) each 3 qian, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gan Cao) 1 qian, and Glycine Max Seed (Hei Dou) 49 grains. After one dose, half of the swelling subsided; after another dose, it completely resolved. For twenty-one days, he had not taken any liquid food. Subsequently, two doses of Xiao Chaihu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) were administered, after which he could consume two strips of dry cake, each the thickness of a finger. The next day, he consumed congee, and gradually recovered. In the autumn of the Dingyou year, news of success in the provincial examinations arrived.