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Yuan Judong, aged twenty. He developed a *pi* mass (abdominal lump) and lay in bed for several months. No physician was not consulted; daily he took medicines to soften hardness and dissipate masses. Gradually, he became emaciated with muscle wasting, his complexion darkened, and hair curled, leaving almost no hope of survival. His family bought a boat to take him to the prefecture city for medical treatment but stopped due to fear that he would not return alive. Nevertheless, expenses for physicians and shamans continued daily. When I arrived, the family fortune was exhausted. They merely asked me to examine him once to determine the proximity of life or death, with no other expectations.

Upon examination, I first observed the mass. It extended from the lower abdomen to beside the navel, branching into three parts, all hard as stone. Palpation caused unbearable pain. The pulse was only vigorous and surging at the two *Chi* positions (Kidney positions), while the rest were faint and thin. I said, "This illness resulted from treating the mass without investigating its root cause. Initially, the mass must not have been hard. By attacking it with harsh drugs, the true Qi (*Zheng Qi*) was disrupted internally, inadvertently protecting the pathogenic factor and causing harm. It is like people grappling in a fight, knotted together without external force to dissolve them, thus remaining tight and unyielding. In reality, this is formed entirely by the accumulation of air, unlike the situation in women's *Chong* and *Ren* vessels and the Blood Sea, where stagnant menstruation forms blood masses. Observing the surging pulse at the two *Chi* positions, it is clearly the Qi of the Shaoyin Kidney channel transmitting to the Bladder. The Qi of the Bladder should naturally be excreted through the anterior and posterior orifices. Mistakenly using blood-breaking drugs also damaged the Qi, preventing its transformation and movement, leading to the formation of a stone-like mass. Touching it causes more pain, revealing the nature of the condition. If it were a blood mass, why would palpation cause pain? This disease could have been cured with one dose originally. However, months of mis-treatment have injured areas above and below that were not diseased. I will prescribe one dose of medicine to tonify the Middle Jiao to unblock the Qi of the Middle and Lower Jiao. Then, I will use a large dose of medicine to gather Kidney Qi internally and disperse Bladder Qi externally, resolving their entanglement. Approximately three doses should result in a complete cure."

Thus, we first used *Lizhong Tang* (Regulate the Middle Decoction) with a small addition of 5 fen of *Fuzi* (Prepared Aconite Root). After one dose, the mass reduced by three-tenths. Next, a large dose of medicine containing *Guizhi* (Cinnamon Twig) and *Fuzi* was administered. Loud intestinal sounds ensued, and within moments, all three masses disappeared simultaneously. Relatives and friends were amazed, calling it miraculous. One more dose confirmed a complete recovery. After a month of recuperation, muscles regenerated, the complexion became bright and lustrous, and the thick, cloud-like hair had thinned to just a few strands. Whenever the weather was cold and cloudy, he insisted on being covered with heavy quilts and dared not get up. I stated that the root cause remained because the storage function of Kidney Qi was not yet solid, and the transformation function of Bladder Qi was not yet vigorous. Moreover, given his youth and recent marriage, if he engaged in sexual activity, the mass would recur, becoming a future burden. I prescribed kidney-tonifying medicine added with *Guizhi* and *Fuzi*, and primarily used *Heche* (Placenta Hominis) made into pills, utilizing the principle of using the womb to tonify the womb, thereby assisting the source of Bladder transformation. After taking this, he no longer feared cold, his waist circumference increased, and his body became fuller and stronger. Over a year later, he fathered a son. Grateful for my previous kindness, he wished to build a shrine and paint a portrait to repay me. Due to consecutive years of famine, he temporarily set up an altar for sacrifice in his home. This is also a manifestation of profound righteousness.

Mr. Hu Youchen said: "The differentiation of symptoms and signs was extremely clear and thorough; therefore, before administering medicine, the efficacy was already known. Furthermore, the subsequent management was handled skillfully. The ingenuity of handling matters with ease and precision was recorded on paper, which is highly commendable."