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An elderly woman suffered from headache for two months, to which various treatments proved ineffective. I treated her with a decoction designed to unblock the meridians and harmonize Qi and Blood (Qi and Blood). After taking more than ten doses, she vomited approximately two bowls of blood at night. Her family panicked and rushed to inform me. I stated, "The symptoms should resolve tomorrow," which indeed came to pass.

A nobleman, aged thirty, had previously suffered from toothache. He took three qian of Shigao (Gypsum Fibrosum) decocted in water. Shortly thereafter, his entire head became swollen and painful, with the swelling at the gum roots being particularly severe. When the weather cooled down, I prescribed Qianghuo Sanhuo Tang (Qianghuo Fire-Dispersing Decoction): Qianghuo (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix) stir-fried with wine, 5 fen; Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix), 3 fen; Lianhua (Coptidis Rhizoma) soaked in wine, 1 fen; Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix) soaked in wine, 2 fen; Baifuling (Poria), 1 qian; Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma), 2 qian; Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), 5 fen; Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma), 1 qian; Pugu Zhi (Psoraleae Fructus), 1 qian; Gouqizi (Lycii Fructus), 1 qian. After two doses, his previously fine and choppy pulse became coarse and large, indicating that Yang Qi was descending. The headache subsided slightly, demonstrating that the previous headache was caused by a lack of Yang Qi in the Lower Jiao (Lower Burner) with Yin Fire rushing upward. After taking eight more doses, the headache completely ceased, although the gum swelling remained, the pulse became even more harmonious. I said, "It is about to heal; this indicates that Yang Qi has reached the affected area." Indeed, after four or five days, a small amount of pus was discharged, and he recovered.

In June of the Renyin year of the Wanli era, my father was fifty-three years old. He suffered from pain in the heart region (epigastric/cardiac area), vomiting food, and yellow complexion. Upon diagnosis, his pulse was fine, wiry, and rapid, exceeding six beats per breath. I applied moxibustion to Qihai (CV6, Sea of Qi), and he recovered immediately. The following year, due to drought and poverty, my family exhausted their strength using a wheel-barrow bucket for irrigation. He again experienced vomiting of acid fluid similar to before. He took the previous prescription along with Bawei Wan (Eight-Ingredient Pill) and stabilized.

A woman over fifty years old had a history of heart pain, which had been dormant for a long time. In July, the old illness suddenly recurred. Physicians administered formulas to widen the middle and guide Qi, as well as those to reduce hardness and attack blood stasis. This resulted in further deficiency of Middle Qi (Middle Burner Qi), loss of appetite, and mental exhaustion. When I was invited to treat her, she had not eaten for five or six days. Diagnosis revealed that all six pulses were deep. Only the pulses corresponding to the Spleen and Stomach were wiry and fine, appearing to have Shen (Spirit/Vitality), though difficult to grasp. Externally, she presented with pain in the heart region, distension and hardness in the left hypochondrium, vomiting of bitter and sour fluid, and an ability to drink only clear soup. Consuming even one mouthful of rice gruel caused unbearable fullness. This is a classic case of Wood overacting on Earth (Liver invading Spleen/Stomach). Although the pulse and symptoms were severe, her facial color and muscles had not significantly wasted away. Recalling the ancient saying that diagnosis should not rely solely on the pulse, I administered Yigong San (Yigong Powder) added with Wuzhuyu (Evodiae Fructus) and Ganjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma), assisted by Jiangchao Zhizi (Gardeniae Fructus stir-fried with ginger), 3 fen. After two doses, the illness diminished by fifteen percent; after another two doses, she recovered.