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Dispersing, removing wind-dampness.
Its efficacy is the same as that of Baihua She (Bungarus multicinctus), but its nature is gentle and non-toxic. It does not consume food. Its eyesight remains clear until death. The best quality is one whose tail is thin enough to thread through a hundred copper coins. Those weighing between seven qian and one liang are superior; those weighing ten liang to one yi (twenty liang) are medium grade; larger ones have reduced potency. Remove the head, skin, and bones, then decoct in wine or roast with su (rendered animal fat).

Light and dispersing, eliminating wind-toxin.
Sweet and salty, non-toxic (Zhen Quan considered it toxic). Its nature is agile and can repel evil spirits, thus treating demonic and gu poison; its nature is penetrating and good at expelling wind, thus treating convulsions, epilepsy, wind-malaria, double tongue (Shenghui Fang: burn to ash and apply externally), throat wind; its nature is toxic yet capable of killing parasites, thus treating scabies, tinea, malignant sores, carbuncles, hemorrhoids, and fistulas; belonging to the skin layer and having a nature good at shedding, thus treating skin ulcers, difficult labor, and corneal opacity. Select the white ones resembling silver, wash clean with soap pod water. Soak in wine, vinegar, or honey, then roast until yellow; or calcine to preserve properties, or seal with salt mud and calcine, according to the specific prescription.

Also known as Tan'na Qi.
Tonifying kidney, assisting yang.
Sweet, salty, and very hot. Tonifies the kidney and assists yang, treating deficiency damage and overstrain, impotence, and cold semen; its efficacy is similar to Rongzhuo Tang (Cistanche) and Suoyang (Cynomorium). Produced in Xifan (Western Regions), now also found in the East Sea. It resembles a dog but has a fish tail. Placed in a vessel, it remains moist for years; soaked in water in December, it does not freeze. Placed next to a sleeping dog, if the dog jumps up in fright, it is genuine (Some say: named Qi because it is taken connected to the navel; others say: it is the navel of the Tan'na beast. Wang Ang notes: The two names do not seem to belong to the same category; perhaps one is the kidney of a sea fish and the other is the navel of a land beast. Bencao Gangmu places this entry in the Beast section).

Also known as Jiaoli.
Dispersing and unblocking, dredging collaterals.
Salty and cold, good at penetrating (likes to burrow through mountains), specifically capable of moving qi and dissipating stagnation, unblocking collaterals, and reaching the disease site (for a disease in a specific location, using the scales from that location is more effective); enters the Jueyin and Yangming channels (Liver, Stomach). Treats wind-damp cold bi syndrome. Unblocks menstruation and promotes lactation, reduces swelling and suppurates carbuncles, relieves pain and drains pus, harmonizes injuries and promotes eruption of smallpox/varicella (use with caution in cases of deficient yuan qi). It is an essential herb for treating wind diseases, malaria, and dermatological conditions (because it lives in holes in mountains but dwells in water, it can enter and exit yin and yang, penetrate collaterals, reach the Ying level, and break pathogenic knots, thus often used as a guiding herb); because it eats ants, it also treats ant-fistulas (fistula, pronounced lü, also pronounced lou. A woman suddenly had a lump under her neck that gradually extended to her neck; when accidentally punctured, a bowl of fluid drained out, and the sore did not heal for a long time. A Daoist priest said: This is an ant-fistula, caused by accidentally eating ants in rice. Burn Pangolin scales to preserve their properties, grind into powder, and apply externally for immediate cure. Liu Bowen's Duoneng Bishi records: If an oil container leaks, scrape the meat inside the scales and insert it, and it will naturally go to the leak to plug it. Yongzhou Ji records: Do not kill them on the dike. Fear that blood entering the soil will cause the dike to leak. Observing these two accounts, one can understand its nature of being good at penetration). Contraindicated for carbuncles that have already ulcerated. Resembles a turtle but is shorter, like a carp with feet. The scales on the tail have even greater potency. Can be used raw or calcined, roasted with su, roasted with vinegar, decocted in children's urine, fried in oil, or stir-fried with earth, according to the prescription.